Life by the Quarter Mile
by WalkingOctopus
Summary: Brian's half sister Buffy is revealed to the Toretto family when Brian gets a call from the dark slayer that the Queen isn't pulling through the aftermath of The First. Away from the relentless scoobies, will the family be able to help the slayer through her nightmares and bring back her fire? Buffy x Dom
1. A Secret Sister

a/n: There are a few changes to the story line but I tried to take as few liberties as possible. Set after Fast 4. All familiar content of both Buffy and Fast and Furious belong to their respective owners.

 **Chapter 1: A Secret Sister**

Everyone in the Toretto family had seen the work of Brian's mysterious connections. When Fenix had crashed into Letty's car, there had been a black SUV waiting right there to pick her up and whisk her away. A body from a nearby morgue with less then adequate security had been left to play her part until it was safe. After the cops had caught up with them and Dom had been arrested, it had taken only one phone call and 8 hours after Dom's sentence to 25 years, to get him back off the prison bus and fully cleared.

And one week later, the family was settled back in at house number 1327. Vince had come out of the woodwork and was mildly harassing Brian again and Letty had rolled up on her rebuilt 1970 Plymouth. Tension ran high for the first couple days while the lies and cover ups got smoothed over but eventually, the waters calmed and life was back to normal.

It was Sunday. The sun was just at the point where the heat of the day was enjoyable rather than oppressive so sunday dinner was being set up on folding tables in the backyard. Roman and Tej had come down to meet the clan and join the barbeque. Mia and Letty were making trips between table and kitchen bringing plates and bowls of food, Brian setting the table and sneaking Mia a kiss on the cheek every time she walked passed.

"None of that, lovebirds, we still need plates," Letty nagged, a smirk prominent on her face. Brian snapped Letty a cheeky salute and went up the stairs to at a time to retrieve plates.

"Alright, food's done. Sit yourselves down," Dom hollered, turning off the grill and putting the giant plate of ribs and steaks on the center of the table. The mix of plastic deck chairs and folding wooden chairs were shuffled as everyone settled in; Dom at the head with Brian's spot then Mia to his left and Letty then Vince to his right. Rome and Tej brought up the other end. Everyone got comfortable, setting drinks and elbows on the table.

Brian quickly returned from the kitchen with a roll of paper towels and took his seat.

"Hey buster, pass me a beer" Vince smirked at Brian who had just sat down. He rolled his eyes and reached behind him to the cooler.

"This boy be hungry, let's eat." Rome let out a laugh and reached for a tortilla chip from the bowl in front. Those in the Torretto family all hid smiles.

 _bzzzt bzzzt_

Dom's brow raised at Brian's phone, and Brain swore as he passed Vince his Corona and tried to wrestle the phone out of his jeans pocket. Meaning only to turn it off, Brian glanced at the caller id and froze.

 _caller: Wolfram & Hart_

"Brian?" Mia asked, all eyes were on him. Interruptions to dinner were rare and often very important.

"Ah, go ahead and start without me, I gotta take this." He stood up and walked to the side of the house to get some privacy.

"Yeah?"

 _"Is this Brian O'Connor?"_ It was an unfamiliar female voice, the kind you expected to hear in seedy bars and at street races. He shuffled his feet over the gravel.

"Yeah, who's this?"

 _"Faith Lehane, I'm a sister slayer of Buffy's."_ Brian stopped his fidgeting and froze. He glanced back at his family and saw them looking his way questioningly and quietly talking. He scrubbed his jaw with his free hand and stared at his shoes.

 _"You still there candyman?"_

"What? Y-yeah. Is Buffy ok? I haven't heard from her for a couple months."

 _"None of us are 5 by 5 but we'll pull through. When were you last filled in?"_

"It was a couple weeks after she'd been brought back. I was working and my badge had enough people breathing down my neck to keep me from heading to Sunnydale."

 _"There is no Sunnydale anymore. Our last big bad had some major mojo. Everything within the city limits was pulled into the hellmouth before it closed. A crater and bodies are all that's left."_

Faith broke everything down. The events leading to her reuniting with the Scoobies, becoming a white hat, the First, Caleb, the baby slayers, and the last battle. Brian just leaned against the house for strength staring blankly out onto the street as he listened.

"What's happened to Buffy?"

 _"They pushed her too far. She lost too much in that fight and now with the stress gone she's desperately trying to come to terms with her realizations."_ There was a humourless laugh. _"She can take on broodiness in her men but she can't do it herself."_

"So what's the call for? Did she say anything?"

 _"We're staying at the Hyperion Hotel under the graciousness of Angel while Giles and Red sort out there plans to head to England and rebuild the Council with baby slayers in tow. And they'll have to pick up the others that were called worldwide and set them on their shiny path of destiny."_ There was a pause while two people talking in the background walked passed. _"Listen. Buffy needs some time around family. And lately, these guys haven't been a shining example. Dawn included."_

" _Dawny too? Did the politics of managing a group go to their heads?"_

 _"Got it in one."_

 _"How is she really Faith?"_ A sigh.

 _"She's struggling. Nightmares are a problem. I was hoping you could come pick B up and shower her with brotherly love until she has her fight back."_

 _"I take it sooner the better?"_

 _"Please."_

 _"I'll be there in half an hour."_

 _"Over and out."_ And Faith hung up.

Brian's dad Hank had never really been around during his childhood. Years later he found out it was because he'd had a second family. He'd wanted to hate them but after meeting his half sister and seeing the similarities in their situations, he knew he would care about his step family regardless. He and Buffy had kept in contact regularly, keeping no secrets.

And when Buffy's destiny had reared its head, she had run to Brian. Despite an overall sense of confusion, he had believed and supported her. It was a shame her parents hadn't been able to respond with the same openness After her two week stint in the psych ward they had promised to kept their secrets close to the vest.

He snapped his phone shut and stuffed it in his pocket. Then did some cathartic swearing. If only he'd know his little sister had needed his help, then he would have gone. But with being on the run, bringing down Verone, working for the FBI and going after Braga, he wasn't really sure what he could have done.

"Everything alright?" Brian started and looked up into Dom's slightly worried face. He must have come up behind him and heard the end of the conversation.

"No." They walked back to everyone else and he fell into his seat. Dom sat and stared into his face, searching for any signs that their family was in trouble.

"My younger sister is in LA. She needs somewhere to go to just relax and be safe for a while." Everyone could hear the question hidden in his statement. There was a shift of unease around the table.

Brian had never mentioned a sister. He never really talked about his family at all.

"Family is always welcome Brian," assured Dom. They all nodded, curious to meet her and wondering if she was anything like their buster or a total cali princess.

"A sister? She a cop too?" Letty joked.

Brian looked at her in surprise and suddenly laughed. "Oh god no. She started her record about the same time I did, although for better reasons." He chuckled again.

"I'm going to pick her up, I should be back within an hour." He turned to Mia and rested his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry about dinner."

She smiled in understanding. "That's ok. We'll eat and get the couch prepped for her. And when you get back you can do the cleaning up and she can tell me embarrassing stories about you when you were younger." They all laughed at that. Brian grimaced then grinned and kissed her briefly.

"I'll be back in a bit." Then he got in his car and was speeding towards downtown.

Mia sat in deep thought for a moment. "I didn't know he had a younger sister."

"My homeboy's got two younger sisters, real Cali princesses," Rome said, taking a bun and ripping it into little chunks and popping them in his mouth. All eyes turned to him with eyebrows raised.

"Figured," whispered Letty, rolling her eyes and taking a swig of her beer.

"You knew?" Tej was surprised.

"Don't chu look at me like that! I grew up with him. His dad wandered, got himself another wife. Buffy's a couple years younger than him, probably about 24 or 25 now. Dawn is about 16 years old." Rome continued after stuffing bread in his mouth. "That girl is a fighter, doesn't take shit from anybody. Doesn't matter if she's only 5 foot 7 or something."

"Who names their kid Buffy?" Vince snickered.

"She might be a blondie but she can whup your ass." Rome piled food on his plate. "And if he looked like that, then something bad happened. I'm eatin' before she gets here and drama puts dinner on hold."

* * *

Dinner was quickly wrapped up and leftovers put away.

Mia stood in the kitchen trying to focus on putting away leftovers but really just working herself deeper into her thoughts.

A hand stroked her arm and she jumped before realizing it was only Dom. His eyes crinkled just a bit but then he matched his expression to the small frown on her face.

"What is it Mia?" he asked. His voice was comforting and she leaned into her brother. He wrapped his thickly muscled arms around her with surprising gentleness.

"I had no idea he had a sister. Let alone two." She shrugged. "I guess it isn't a big deal and I know he isn't really open about that kind of stuff but..."

"But you thought it would have come up?" Dom finished. Mia sighed and nodded her forehead against his shoulder. He gave her a brief squeeze.

"From what I've overheard and put together from a couple different conversations, Brian's sister is involved in something dangerous. But I don't think illegal. If it wasn't for the regular and easy contact, I'd think she was military. It has been referred to as "her duty" whatever it is." Dom paused.

"We both know that Brian wouldn't bring any trouble here if he could help it. I'm not going to worry until she gets here."

Mia nodded again and stepped out of his hug. "Thanks Dom." He smiled and helped her cover bowls in cling wrap and package up food for later.

* * *

Vince intercepted Dom on his way out of the kitchen and jerked is head to steer him outside.

"Should we be worried? The shit isn't known for being honest," Vince hissed. Little barbs towards Brian's undercover work often still came up with him. And while Dom had not forgotten, he had forgiven and moved on.

"Family Vince, you never give up on family. And right now, his needs someplace safe. This house will always offer that."

Vince opened his mouth, about to retort, when the sound of Brian's import could be heard coming up the street. Dom shot him a look and went around the house to wait in the driveway for their arrival.

Brian's blue supra pulled into the driveway and all members of the house waited either at the front or lingered in windows to catch a glimpse. When the passenger door opened, no one was entirely sure what to think. She was on the short end of medium height, with shoulder length gold blonde hair and the same light California tan that her brother sported. She had typically pretty features but her green eyes were tired and listless. She wore ratty black lace ups on her feet and light jean capris that had been washed soft. She was also wearing one of Brian's shirts, a long sleeve black waffle knit pullover. It was light but probably better than whatever she had on underneath.

Brian got a large heavy canvas duffle bag out of his trunk and slipped it over his shoulder. Glancing at Dom, he gently steered his sister with a hand on her back.

"Buffy, I want to to meet my family, the Torettos," he introduced.


	2. Assumptions

a/n: All recognized content is not owned by me. Sorry for the delay, wasn't expecting readers so quickly. :)

 **Chapter 2: Assumptions**

It was fair to say that nobody had been entirely sure what to make of Brian when they'd first met him. He was a cocky blonde Cali boy with a toothy grin and nice wheels he wasn't too sure how to drive. Sufficed to say, it took awhile to really impress anybody besides Dom but that was only because bonding by risk of heavy gunfire or NOS explosion seemed a tad overkill. There was something just underneath his unassuming facade that people felt was secretive and untrustworthy.

Buffy seemed to have the opposite problem. Something about her instilled the need to be close and trust but also triggered an instinctual understanding that she played the alpha role a family scenario. The secretive shadows in her character were revealed in the shadows in her eyes, another aspect of the young woman that worried Dom.

She was dangerous. Whatever had happened wasn't just an overreaction to a bad break up. It had been something truly disastrous.

"Buffy, I want you to meet my family, the Torettos." Brian gently pushed her forward a few more steps then tucked her into his arm. She pressed against his side and sagged.

"That's Letty and Vince. That's a new buddy of mine, Tej, and you remember Roman." Everyone nodded in turn as he pointed to them and gave their names. Buffy stared right into their eyes as he said their name. Whatever she was searching for, she obviously didn't find and would relax just a bit before looking at the next new face.

Letty's face was neutral but her 'bitch mode' as Brian cautiously called it was nowhere in sight. Vince leered, dragging his eyes over her from ankles to earlobes and Buffy felt her eyes narrow and fingers curl. But she dismissed him.

"Hey there trouble, you gonna finally keep an eye on our boy here? Hmm? Make sure he don't pick on your man Rome?" Rome opened his arms and Buffy gave him a tired but genuine smile. She was carefully folded into his arms and he laughed. Her head only came up to the middle of his chest.

"Haha! Look at chu! So little still, maybe we oughta water you more and leave you out in the sun." Rome squeezed her tight, and ruffled her hair.

"Ow!" He jerked his arms back and pouted while rubbing his side. "Still got them pinchy fingers too." A good natured laugh was shared.

"This beautiful lady is Mia," Mia blushed but smiled wide at Buffy. "And this is her brother Dom."

Buffy met is eyes and stared into him. If he wasn't so sure it wasn't possible, he would have sworn that she was picking apart every thought and memory that made up his life.

But he was sure that she was assessing whether or not he was a threat. He'd seen that look in the eyes of some of the bruisers and hard core scrappers in Lompoc. Everyone else might've have said they were crazy, but Dom was sure that if he could stare down a cornered lion, its eyes would set perfectly into Buffy's face and everyone one of those prison rats'.

"Pleasure to meet you Buffy. You're welcome here for as long as you need," Dom assured her, the depth and gravel of his voice both surprised her and soothed her. As he spoke she could feel her eyelids slowing surrendering to sleep under the influence.

"We've made the couch up for you, I'm afraid we don't have much in the way of guest rooms seeing as how no one sleeps in their own house." Dom threw a hinting smirk at Vince and Rome who both snorted and looked away.

"Thanks," she said, quiet but clear. There was a brief awkward pause before Brian cleared his throat.

"Why don't I show you where you can drop your stuff then we can go through the leftovers." Casting a cursory glance at Dom, he pushed his sister past the patchwork family and up the front steps into the house. Tej excused himself, said good-bye to everyone and jumped in his car to head back to his temporary apartment above the new garage he had bought for a steal on the city limits.

* * *

"Well?"

"Hmmm?" Dom wasn't paying attention. Vince sighed, irritated.

"What do you think of her? She gonna bring trouble?" grunted Vince, both unsettled by the new guest and leering. She might not have been his typical high heels and rough edged race rat but there was no denying that Buffy was beautiful. But her connection with Brian made him suspicious. They'd had enough trouble with his secrets before.

"I think she terrifies me," stated Dom. He crossed his thick arms across his chest, shirt stretching to accommodate the flex of his shoulders.

Vince snorted and the others gaped at him.

"Wha-"

"She's tiny man-"

"Are you kidding?"

They drowned out each other's voices. Mia watched her brother closely before stepping up to him and tentatively putting her hand on his arm.

"Dom? What is it?" she asked.

"The look in her eyes tells me broken or not, she's higher on the food chain. I've seen that look before." He sighed and rubbed his bald head. "I didn't mess with it then and I sure as hell ain't startin' now."

Mia drew back with wide eyes and stared at the door Buffy had gone through only a few minutes before. She knew he was referencing his two years in Lompoc. That was an unspoken taboo subject. But here he was, talking about it himself, or at least, alluding to it.

"We'll be ok...right?" Mia's voice was soft, far too much like the last time their family had been disrupted those few years ago. Dom's body language changed and his big brother persona shone through every pore as he smile and patted her shoulder.

"We're family. Family makes it through," he reassured. Letty snuck up behind her and kissed her on the cheek, echoing his words and heading past them into the house. Mia sighed and after a meaningful look at her brother, followed Letty. It was going to be quiet in the Toretto house tonight but it was unlikely anyone would be getting much sleep.

"I hope you're right brother. Buster's secrets have a tendency to screw everything to hell," Vince growled. Dom glanced at him, sighed, and nodded his head to show he hadn't forgotten the past. Vince rolled his shoulders and went around the house to go in the basement door and to his and Rome's shared basement cave.

Dom rubbed his hands over the skin on his head, it was becoming slightly rough he'd have to shave soon, and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes.

"Buffy lives by the same creed you do Toretto," said Rome. Dom quickly looked at him. With all that had gone on and Rome being unusually quiet for ten minutes, he had forgotten he was there. He furrowed his forehead in question. Rome took a swig from the corona in his hand.

"Buffy lives by family, that girl'd do anything for them. Hell, already has." Rome paused, staring into his beer as if it would have the answer to Buffy's unhappiness. Dom guessed it did when Rome spoke again.

"I can't imagine what happened. But what I do know?" He met Dom's gaze straight on. "She's here because her family couldn't return the favour. That girl's gonna need all the Toretto loyalty you can spare." With that, Rome walked back around to the backyard to finish his beer.

* * *

"The bathroom is up the stairs, second door on the left, kitchen is just through there and the door to the porch is just passed the kitchen. Do you need anything?" Brian fretted. Buffy patted her brother's arm and sunk into the sofa. A bed sheet and been pulled over the cushions and a pillow and blanket were piled on one end. The coffee table had been pushed closer to the wall to make sure she didn't trip on it if she needed to get up in the night. Despite being able to perfectly see in the dark, Buffy appreciated the gesture. Gaming consoles and controls, car and parts magazines, and random abandoned knickknacks were carelessly pushed aside to make room for her duffle bag. It wasn't elegant, but it had the comfort of a lived in home that she soaked up greedily.

After all, Sunnydale was gone. No more house on Revello Drive, no more Bronze, magic shop, or familiar cemeteries. Her mom's grave was gone too. Crushed under hundreds of tons of debris were the houses and remnants of the lives lived there. And all the people who didn't evacuate, or wouldn't, in time.

Not even Buffy's grave was there anymore.

Buffy choked on a sob as her face crumpled and her shoulders began to shake. Brian quickly sat next her, pulled her into his lap, and wrapped his arms around her so all that could be made out was some patches of clothing and her hair. She rubbed her nose against his collar bone and pressed her face into his chest.

"Everything's gone, Bri. All gone." It took a moment for Brian to understand what she had said. He squeezed her tighter and kissed her hair.

"I just want it to be over," she sobbed.

"It is sweetheart. You can take as long as you need. Until you are ready, and even if you aren't, Faith is ready and has all the activated potentials to help." Brian hoped nothing of this magnitude came up again but he wasn't going to be to hopeful. Fate had a way of giving Buffy the finger.

"You can take a break from destiny now," Brian promised.

When he got no reply he pulled the blanket off the arm of the couch and pulled it around her. She was passed out, breathing deeply with salty lines drying on her face. He carefully wiped them off with a corner of the blanket.

The floorboards squeaked under weight and Brian looked up to see Dom leaning against the wall looking at them. He raised an eyebrow and looked in her direction.

"Nah, she put herself to sleep. She wasn't crying for more than about five minutes but she was already exhausted," said Brian. Twisting carefully to get out from underneath her, he lay his sister down on the couch making sure the blanket was tucked in at all edged so no drafts could get in. It might be an early California summer, but that didn't mean the night didn't get cool. He ran his fingers through her hair making her sigh and pull her head down more thoroughly into the warmth of the blanket.

Dom met his eyes then jerked his head toward the kitchen and went through the hall to prevent making the living room floor squeak and possibly disturb Buffy's rest.

"Love you Buff, whenever you need me," Brian whispered. He turned and followed Dom to the kitchen.

* * *

Dom quietly entered the house and closed the door behind him. With surprisingly light steps he went down the hall to peek into the living room. It was barely lit, only a standing lamp in a corner by the windows and the faint glow from the kitchen providing soft white light.

Buffy's large canvas duffle was neatly tucked along the end of the couch so no one would trip on it and spare bedding was already on the couch. Dom watched, intrigued, as a soft protective and yet unseen side to Brian was exposed as he gently rocked his little sister. Her sobs were getting softer but he could tell from the racking of her shoulders just how upset she was. Not to say Brian had a particularly rough or callous side but this wasn't the sweet and teasing face that he wore with Mia.

"You can take a break from destiny now," Brian said softly. _Destiny?_ though Dominic. He'd never heard Brian say anything that would show he believed in that kind of stuff. Her sobs had stopped and Dom watched as Brian wrapped the blanket around and moved her to lay down so he could stand and she could sleep. Dom smiled as Brian tucked in the edges and shifted his weight to lean against the wall, knowing the noisy floor board he was standing on would get Brian's attention.

Brian looked up and understood the silent question in his raised eyebrow. Was she gonna hear them if they had a chat?

"Nah, she put herself to sleep. She wasn't crying for more than about five minutes but she was already exhausted," Brian assured Dom. He nodded and jerked his head toward the kitchen, making sure to go though the hallway to avoid most of the noisy spots in the floor.

"Love you Buff, whenever you need me," he heard Brian whisper. Whatever doubts that had returned to Dom as he faced Brian's first betrayal and his recent federal badge, he had to respect a man would say that to his sister. Whether she could hear him or not.

He had assumed that the sister would be like the brother. Bright but teasing attitude with big shining blues and an easy grin. Who knew, maybe she was like that. Dom just knew that the woman on his couch was no Cali princess.


	3. Truth Feels Better

_a/n: Sorry if the timeline isn't correct, I did a roundabout guess. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! *Fight with glory 1yr 3 months ago, Buffy resurrected 9 months ago._

 **Chapter 3: Truth Feels Better**

Dom grabbed two iced cold coronas and carefully opened the screen door to the back porch, trying to prevent its decade faithful squeak. _"Gotta put WD-40 on there"_ he reminded himself. He held it briefly for Brian who caught it and gently closed it. They both sank into the rickety wicker chairs and enjoyed the quiet of the night.

The crickets and amber street glow created a lazy effect in the residual warmth from the ridiculous heat of the day. The distant sounds of racing engines on the city limits made them both smile when some punk missed a gear.

Dom popped the caps off both beers and handed one to Brian, who nodded thanks and took a swig.

"I can respect privacy Brian, you know that." Dom's gritty voice left an empty space in the white noise while he paused. "But you gotta lot of secrets poppin' up. And it's makin' my skin itch." Dom met Brian's eyes and knocked back some of his corona.

"It was my secret about being a cop, one I wish hadn't happened. This is different."

"I'm not putting my family at risk again O'Connor." Brian winced at the use of his last name. "I was almost back doing time, Letty could have been killed. I don't know who your mysterious source is, but can they take whatever put that look in your sister's eyes?"

Brian dropped his gaze and sighed rubbing his jaw.

"That mysterious source is Buffy, Dom," Brian admitted quietly. Dom stared at him, eyes wide.

"When I needed help protecting Letty when she drove for Braga, she organized a no name body to be waiting. It was some unknown woman in Letty's car when Fenix caught up. Due to the fire, he couldn't tell the difference." Brian leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out straight in front of him.

"Meanwhile, Letty was safely stashed away getting medical treatment. She phoned me up when she got to a safe house and let me know she was ok." Brian met his eyes, the bright blue glint of his iris slightly unnerving when it caught residual light.

"And when I got 25 years?"

"She arranged that you'd been working for her. Remote connection, nothing too eye catching. But you'd still get diplomatic immunity as a temporary foreign agent." Dom was having a hard time taking it all in. Then his forehead wrinkled.

"Temporary foreign agent? We turning this into spy shit now?"

Brian snort a laugh and almost spit out his sip of beer.

"She's been working for these private sector white hats for a long time. Some bad shit went down just over a year ago. Things were in the shitter until about nine months ago. Then she put her foot down, if she was going to do their dirty work, she was going to get the fat pay cheque and the political protection she deserved."

Dom mulled that over. It wasn't military just as he'd thought but it didn't sound entirely legal either. Not that he was one to judge however his illegal activities hadn't involved any secret foreign governments.

"Nothing drug or gang related?" Dom asked.

"'Course not."

"Then what was going on?"

Brian sighed. He wasn't going to be able to slide past Dom with the secrets of the truth kept intact. He stood up and leaned against the porch railing, looking over to the empty street visible over the neighbour's yard.

"You've been in the racing scene awhile. You've heard some weird shit? Seen things that don't make any sense?" Brian said, a hint in his tone. Dom's brows came together and he leaned forward, elbows propped on his knees.

"You mean the drugged out crazies, the funky deaths and how no one ever seems to see anything?" He watched Brian's face closely.

"Ever heard of the Slayer?" Dom sucked in a deep breath. Lights came on in his head and he shifted to look back into the screen door towards where the slight blonde woman was asleep on his couch.

"You mean-"

"Yup" Brian interrupted. They were quiet again.

"She's only twenty fours years old Dom, and already she's the longest living Slayer in history." Brian choked out a broken laugh. "Does that even count if she's died before?"

Dom didn't know how to respond. Died before? He'd dealt with some serious shit before but this was out of his field.

Just about everyone in the racing scene here knew about the darker, less human parts of the crime underbelly. Even some racers straddled the line and the Tran family had some connections outside the norm which was what had helped them keep their position for so long.

"What happened Brian?" Dom asked quietly.

"A year and a bit ago, a Hell god, Glorificus showed up. The bitch was heading home, only way she could get there was with the power from the Hell Mouth." Brian hoped Buffy would beat his ass for his loose lips now. Dom was familiar with the term Hell Mouth. There were several elderly spanish woman that would mutter the word and cross themselves when there were strange reports on the news about a small city called Sunnydale. It had been a couple years and overhearing little bits here and there from the supernatural side LA to finally understand what it was.

"Buffy was called at 15 and moved to SunnyD shortly after," Brian continued. "She'd been looking after the Hell Mouth for years. Dealing with Glory shouldn't have been so complicated. But nothing goes right on the Hell Mouth."

Dom drank the last of his corona and left it by the foot of his chair, joining Brian at the railing. He rested on his elbows and motioned for Brian to continue with the story.

"She needed a key to open the gate, and the monks who protected the key changed it and made it out of Buffy when Glory was hunting them down."

"She has a child?" Dom whispered.

"No, a little sister. Mystical energy made into flesh and blood and put with the memories to go with 16 years of life. That's why Rome and I know her." They were both silent. Brian was having trouble with the next events. He'd never talked about it with anyone except Buffy and that was only after she'd been brought back and phoned him. Dom was feeling more than a little over whelmed. As much as he'd known about this part of the world, which admittedly wasn't much, it had always existed on the periphery of his life. Now it was front and center.

"Seeing as this key isn't literal, how'd she plan to open the gate?" Dom asked.

"What is represented again and again as the source of life?" Brian taking the shit now. Dom wanted answers, not a damned crossword puzzle. But the answer came to him quicker than he thought.

"Blood."

"Exactly."

Dom 'hmmd' for a moment.

"Glory got a hold of Dawn-"

"Dawn?" Dom was confused.

"Key turned sister."

"Ah."

"Glory spilt Dawn's blood to open it, was dispatched before she could go through, and left an enormous portal to a hell verse open in the middle of the sky." Brian's voice was thick with emotion. "But it needed blood to close it and Buffy wouldn't let Dawn sacrifice herself."

Dom then remembered what Brian had said earlier. _"-changed it and made it out of Buffy."_

"Buffy jumped instead." Dom whispered, turning to face Brian just in time to see a tear get wiped roughly from his cheek.

"Buffy was dead for almost five months before a friend of hers, a witch, took it into her head to bring her back." Angered replaced the sadness and Brian's fists curled. "No regard for where she was in the afterlife or thought about the consequences of dealing with forces that dark. And after the spell had been done by four of Buffy's friends, they left the grave."

Brian met Dom's eyes. "They left her in a wood casket two metres underground. She had to claw her way out of her own grave." Cold rage and disgust rushed through both of them.

"She called me a week after, crying, told me everything. She'd been in heaven. There was never really any doubt after all she'd done and sacrificed. That was at the very start of my involvement of the Braga case with the feds. They were already wary of my past, there was no way I could leave for a couple weeks to go see a sister who by all medical and government records had died."

Dom took it all in. Was he happy a secret this big had been so close to affecting them all? No. But he could now see the gravity of it all. He almost wished he hadn't pushed for the truth.

"OK, that was over eight months ago. Only two things I need to know. What's Buffy's backing power and what happened a week ago?" Dom said. He was going to keep any more info to a minimum, he already had too much to think about.

"The Watcher's Council are the historians and supporters of the slayer. Keeping records, training, all that crap. After she was back, Buffy had leftover medical debts from her mom, a younger sister to look after and keep in school, and a house to pay for. Her witch friend had been living rent free in the house, not taking any responsibility. So Buffy called them up and told them she wanted a pay cheque and support or everyone from Sunnydale to Singapore was going to get a fully detailed expose on everything related to them and her work." They shared a laugh. "She got what she was asking for pretty quick."

"And recently?"

"Those consequences I mentioned? Finally came around. Extremely long and complicated story short, the First Evil opened the Hell Mouth. Buffy and others did their best to evacuate then deal with it. In the end, Sunnydale was pulled into the Hell Mouth as it closed. There isn't anything left."

They were quiet. The echoing revs from racing cars in the distance had gone quiet but the crickets still faithfully chirped. The temperature had dropped a few degrees and gone from lasting warmth to chilled. Goosebumps rose on both their arms.

"That's the truth Dom. Secrets may make your skin itch, but does this truth feel any better?" Brian asked. He wasn't expecting an answer and turned away to go back into the house.

"Brian." He stopped with the screen door ajar.

"Doesn't change anything. She's got the Torettos as long as she needs them," Dom assured him.

"Thanks." The door only let out a small squeak as it closed behind him.


	4. Sharing the Good Times

_a/n: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Great to know the story is being read and enjoyed. I've been thinking of bringing in Hobbs like he was in Fast Five. Review and let me know what you think. Fast and Buffy characters are still not my property. If you want background music, I wrote this with Lorde's Buzzcut Season in mind._

 **Chapter 4: Sharing the Good Times**

Dom came awake in his bed to metal scratching on wood. He was laying on his back with his hands behind his head. His "thinking pose" as Mia used to call it when they were younger and he was a broody teenager. There was a faint blue glow on the ceiling and wall from the digital clock and the very early or very late numbers it displayed. Amber light glowed on the other walls from the street light that glowed through his thin curtains.

After twenty minutes, Dom gave up trying to trick himself into going back to sleep and rolled out of bed. He blinked at the clock and its proud _2:43am_ and groaned. He had no trouble staying up late, whether it was a race night or his past trouble keeping him on the run but the emotional back and forth throughout the house had been exhausting.

Giving in to his circling thoughts, he pulled on a pair of light weight navy sleep pants and picked his way carefully down the creaky stairs. Finding his way into the kitchen in the dark by memory, Dom gently took a glass from the cupboard above the sink and poured himself a glass of cold water. The sound of scraping wood was still there and louder. Tilting his head, he followed it to the back porch, back door open but the screen door carefully latched. Dom wasn't worried about thieves. No one in this neighbourhood would deign to attempt to steal from him. Let alone hang out on his porch after breaking in.

Buffy sat in the wicker chair he'd vacated some hours earlier. The only light was the faint glow from the street lights peaking through the trees and past the neighbour's house. Staring straight ahead, her hands worked mechanically, a wicked sharp whittling knife deftly shaving the piece of wood into a deadly point.

Brian's words rattled around in his head and he watched her eyes glaze over as she relive memories and nightmares outside her dreams.

"Aren't you going to join me?" Dom started at her soft voice.

"I didn't think you noticed I was here," he admitted quietly. The corners of her mouth quirked up briefly. Dom did his best to open and shut the screen door without too much noise and sat in the other chair beside her, sipping his water.

"Brian talked to me last night," Dom said after some time.

"I know." Buffy didn't look at him. He looked at her in surprise and she turned to look at him with a small cheeky smile.

"I could hear you talking. I might have been asleep, but the slayer part stays awake." She tossed the giant toothpick up in the air, giving it a twirl before setting it on the porch and pulling her feet up to rest on the edge of her seat. She set the knife on the side table, the dull lights catching the blade in a disquieting glow.

"Then you know he just gave me the layout. You wanna fill in some of the blanks?" he asked. Buffy avoided eye contact for a bit and picked at her finger nails.

"We didn't have enough power to defeat The First ourselves. Willow managed to come up with a spell that awakened all the slayer powers in all the potential slayers out there. All the girls that would be the possible next link in the chain after Faith croaks."

"Faith?"

"Sister slayer. She's the current slayer in the original chain."

"What about you?"

"I drowned for a couple seconds and stopped breathing long enough for the next slayer to be called. The slayer line continued without me."

Dom nodded in understanding, guessing that was the woman he had faintly heard talking to Brian during the phone call the day before.

"Trying to organize that many girls in a crisis situation, training them, following prophetic dreams, and balancing the new team need for leadership was too much. They tossed me from my own house after a raid to find a specific weapon ended with casualties. Like that was a surprise." Buffy sighed and rubbed her hands over her face.

"I had been right. The scythe was there. And the second raid they lead and the girls injured in it was all for nothing. Power does strange things to those who aren't burdened with the consequences. My mixed family showed me that."

"And when it was all over, the effect of that power was still there," Dom reasoned. "Politics instead of familial support." Buffy nodded.

"Ten years Dom, since I was called. Died twice, lost so many." Her voice was quiet but didn't shake. She let her head fall to the side, meeting his eyes. They had a slight glow behind them, letting him see the green in her eyes despite the lack of light.

"I'm so tired, Dom."

Not thinking, he set his glass on the table, reached over and plucked her up from the chair and folded her into his arms on his lap. That seemed to be the right thing because the stress of the past weeks escaped her in a rush of air and her whole body deflated to conform to the shape of his chest and embrace. Her head lolled against his shoulder and she pushed her nose against his neck, inhaling his clean warm scent.

"I'm no slayer but I've had my fair share of trouble over the years. Keepin' on my toes with the heists, watchin' out for the gang, bein' on the run, evadin' the cops, then trying to reconcile with Brian while driving for Braga, it drains you. Being that tensed for so long, it leaves you with a deep weariness. Coming back here has helped. There's no danger, everyone is together and safe. All I need now is time. The same for you, I would think." Dom's words soothed and planted the seeds of sleep in Buffy's head.

"That's just it," she mumbled, tucking further into his bare chest for warmth, like a small animal. He looked down at her but was only able to see the top of her head.

"What is?"

"I don't know how much time I have. Some demon'll get lucky. Or the world will try to end again. Shit, I was at my expiry date at nineteen." She rolled her head back and met his gaze.

"Where do I go now, Dom? Sunnydale's gone."

Dom tightened his arms around her.

"Who says you've gotta go anywhere? Stay here Buffy. Let family do what it's meant to and help you put yourself back together." Dom would never admit it but there was a sort of warm soft feeling thinking about developing as he held her steady gaze.

They sat together in silence. Both relaxed and near sleep but not tired enough to drift off. Finally Dom's curiosity got the better of him.

"Was it all bad? Your years as the slayer? Brian said they called you the Queen now that there are so many."

Buffy snorted. "The first year and a bit were fucked up. We had a substitute teacher in high school at one point who turned out be a giant praying mantis. My friend Xander had a crush on her. As if her being a teacher didn't make it weird enough."

"A giant bug was your teacher?"

"Yeah, she'd have sex with guys then bite their heads off during the happy moment." Buffy didn't have to look at Dom to know his face was twisted with disgust.

"That's some messed up shit."

"Oh it gets better. There was some cursed candy going around that made adults revert to their teenaged selves. Couple weeks after that I got the nifty ability to read minds after getting demon blood on me. Turns out while my mom and watcher were feeling young and red blooded, they decided to boink on the hood of a cop car." Dom couldn't hold his laughter in and his whole body shook as his gravelly laugh filled the porch.

"The days after I got myself sorted out were a till awkward," she said.

"I'll bet."

"Xander also ended up nearly seduced by a Mayan mummy, possessed by demonic hyena spirits, dated the most popular girl in school. Not supernatural or anything, but definitely the least likely. Skip forward a couple years you've got a musical Sunnydale. I'm never ever going to sing again."

"Do me favour?" Dom asked.

"What?"

"Don't bring your friend Xander around to my garage. I hate to think what his bad luck could do to my car."

Their shared laughter hailed the morning as the first rays of sun touched LA. An auspicious start, _maybe this is what I need_ , thought Buffy.


	5. Difficult to Swallow

_a/n: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Sorry it took me so long to update, Brian was giving me difficulties. A little reminder that more reviews results in a faster chapter. I'm still looking for opinions on bringing Hobbs in. Yes or No? Possibility of going to Rio with the complete crew? Let me know your feelings and I'll get to work on the next chapters!_

Chapter 5: Difficult to Swallow

Brian opened his eyes then quickly shut them, hiding his face in Mia's hair to escape the very early morning sun. The curtains in their bedroom hadn't been shut all the way and the intruding light had woken him much earlier than usual.

His, Vince and Dom's mornings at the shop started at half past eight but with the garage being a ten minute drive away, he tended to get out of bed at quarter to eight. Well, it was a ten minute drive the way they drove. Mia and Letty would spend some quality time in the mornings, having breakfast together and doing laundry because really who else was going to? Then Letty would join them at the shop and Mia would starting prepping the dinner to open at eleven.

With Tej in the neighbourhood, a crowd similar to the one which had amassed around him in Miami had surfaced and become regular faces at the street races and at the diner. While Suki and Jimmy had come to LA , and worked mostly in his garage, they would sometimes come and help at the diner. Suki in particular would wait tables and during the lulls in business, would work on her designs. The new faces made a huge upswing in customers from the racing crowd and Tej's party crowd. The family had met one night and overhauled the menu. A few things had been added, the traditional burgers and fries had been kept. The tuna sandwich had been let go. Brian made a lot of fuss about it but everyone ignored him. It was no secret that they were terrible.

Brian briefly tightened his arms around Mia, inhaling the scent of her generic fresh smelling shampoo before glancing at the clock beside the bed. Six fifty, madness. He groaned and thought about going back to sleep, or trying at least. But he really needed to take a leak.

With a petulant sigh he carefully removed himself from the bed, trying not to disturb Mia. It had been a late night last night for them both. After revealing the truth of things to Dom, he had sat in bed with her and told her about his father, what he could remember at least, meeting his sister for the first time, and the difficult times they had gotten each other through. He didn't tell her about the slayer side yet. Dom needed to know because he was right, he didn't deserve to have a secret that big in his house without his knowing about it. Brian had even been unsure as to whether or not Dom would've let them stay in his house but luckily he'd been understanding and supportive.

It was now Buffy's choice on how to tell everyone else in the group but it would have to be done and soon.

He flushed the toilet and pulled on the light, blue t-shirt he'd snagged on his way out of the bedroom. Splashing water on his face to clear his head, he figured he'd head downstairs to check on Buffy before getting back into bed. He knew that if she had a nightmare, either he would have heard it or she would have come and found him. But he wanted to make sure she was still tucked in.

Making his way down the stairs, skirting around the squeaky spot in one of them, he took in the silence of the house. Despite the sun creating a warming glow throughout the halls and the cool breeze blowing in through cracked windows, the morning was dampened by the fact that Brian had never been wake when it was this quiet in the house and the effect was eerie.

He wasn't even sure if he'd ever been around the house when it was only him.

Brian looked around the divider wall into the living room and stared blankly at the empty sofa. The pillow was there and the blankets had been pushed aside like she'd gotten up with every intention of climbing right back in. The protective big brother part of Brian started to panic. _Did she go out in the night? What if she had a nightmare? Did she take a stake with her? What if she got surprised by some demon and is laying bleeding in the alleyways of LA? Did she take her coat?_ Rational and more in-control Cop Brian took over the thought process. He would check the house before going out and looking for her. Besides, he could see the red glint of the deadly scythe blade peeking out from her duffle bag.

If the scythe was here and she wasn't, then he'd start worrying.

He tiptoed around the house, checking the driveway in case she'd had a call and the kitchen and in case her slayer metabolism had given her the munchies.

The kitchen was empty but the back door was open with only the screen to keep possible intruders and bugs out. Dom had gone to bed last and there was no way he would've forgotten to close and lock the back door. Brian blew out a sigh, Buffy had probably woken up early and had gone outside to collect her thoughts.

No reason to panic.

Looking outside , Brian saw something that did give him reason to panic.

Shirtless Dom was holding Buffy, in her tank top and sleep shorts, on his lap.

Exotic lady killer Dom was cuddling his little sister.

With no shirt on.

Brian shrieked. The big brother mentality was stuck at the forefront of his brain and he was having trouble collecting and processing rational thought.

Buffy and Dom jolted awake, her hand reaching for the knife on the table, both alert and looking for danger. It soon became clear there was nothing dangerous except Brian's blood pressure which from the lovely shade of red on his face, was increasing.

"O'Connor?" Dom asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"What is it Brian?" Buffy asked. Brian continued to squeak and gape, shaking his hands at the scene in front of him.

"Ah, big brother Brian is at the forefront here. Big bad Dom is too close to the little sister," reasoned Dom, a smile creeping across his face.

"But isn't he dating your little sister?" Buffy asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Yup."

"Then what's his problem?"

"Now he knows how it feels." Dom laughed and carefully lifted Buffy so she could stretch out her legs and stand on her own. Sleeping in his lap may have been fairly comfortable but her legs weren't too happy to have been curled up for several hours.

Mia appeared in the door way, wide eyed and panting lightly from running down the stairs.

"Is everyone ok? What happened?" Mia asked.

"Y-y-y-your animal of a brother had his paws on Buffy. They were sleeping together! On his lap!" Brian's voice broke when he went too high and he sucked in a big breath. Mia looked at Buffy and Dom. Shadows that had been present in both of their eyes had been somewhat soothed. Mia smiled, knowing that Brian was now experiencing the full force of having attractive men around his little sister.

"Ah. Well, I'm going to start on breakfast seeing as how I'm up anyways." And she went back into the kitchen to start the day. Buffy collected her knife and newly carved stake, gave Brian an tight hug around his middle and followed Mia inside. Dom met his eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"You are my friend Dom, never doubt that. But that doesn't mean you can do s-s-s-stuff with my little sister."

"Oh really? And exactly who are you _doing stuff_ with again? Hmmm? Maybe someone's little sister perhaps?" Dom was enjoying himself immensely. "If you can date my sister, why can't I date yours?"

And with that, Dom took his water glass and went inside.

* * *

"Oh for love of-" Mia rolled her eyes and put down the spatula she was poking omelets and hash browns with. "I get she is your little sister Brian, I do. You feel protective and that's understandable considering you have watched who knows how many race bunnies get in and out of his car over the years but she can make her own decisions. And do you really think that Dom would do anything to hurt her? He's grown up over the years."

"I know. It's just- Buffy hasn't had the greatest boy history. In fact everyone of them has hurt her in some way. Either they did something awful or they went and died." Brian said. Mia gave him a confused look as she scrapped the hash browns into a pan and tucked them into the warm oven.

"It's a long story," he explained.

"Consider this then. You mean something to Dom. You are his friend and confidant and brother by everything but blood. She is your sister and that makes her all the more important. To everyone in this family," Mia soothed. Brian wrapped his arms around from behind and pushed his nose into her neck.

"I know there is something going on you aren't telling me. And whatever it is, I know you'll tell me when you are ready. Until then, remember that we are all looking out for her. And if they want to, Buffy and Dom might get close. Big brother Brian will just have to deal with it." Mia's smirk was evident in her voice and Brian groaned.

"Don't laugh at me. I haven't had the proper chance to do by brotherly duty of being irritating but overly protective for years. Doing it over the phone is no where near as effective as in person. And Dom knows me, I can't even be the mysterious, gun toting brother who scares her boyfriend off."

Mia placed the omelets on plates and twisted to look at him.

"Did you do that?"

"Once. Junior prom. Little asshole thought he could go out with Buffy and lose his pathetic v-card," Brian growled. Mia smiled at him.

"And how did that go over?"

"He pissed his pants on the door step and Buffy broke his nose when he showed up at the dance drunk." Mia could hear the pride in his voice and laughed.

* * *

Buffy had quickly commandeered the bathroom and dressed in a light pair of black linen capris and a white tank top. They were comfortable for the expected day's heat but they revealed the healing bruises and cuts that ran along her arms. She ran her finger tips over them, careful not to disrupt the dainty scabs or shiny scar tissue.

The names and faces of everyone who had gone into the cave and hadn't come flashed before her eyes. Each violent act she had seen and not been quick enough to stop, or the screams and cries she had heard but couldn't turn to had been etched into her memory. And the heat of Spike, as he burned in front of her rolled across her skin. Goosebumps puckered her skin and a cold sweat broke out between her shoulder blades.

 _No you don't, but thanks for saying it._

Hot tears pushed their way out from the backs of her eyes and left lukewarm trails down her cheeks. A light knock on the bathroom door had her angrily wiping them away.

"Yeah?"

"Hey Buff, breakfast is on the table," Brian said.

"Okay, thanks." She splashed cold water on her face and patted it dry. With a quick fluff of her hair for confidence, she left the bathroom stopped by her duffle to drop her toiletries bag. Tucking it into the side under her spare jeans her fingers brushed over a narrow piece of cold metal, too narrow and dull to be a weapon.

The silver cross somehow still managed to gleam even in the dark of her duffle.

Standing on the edge of the Sunnydale crater she had ripped it off with every intent to throw it into the remains of the past eight years. Faith had stopped her and tucked it into her cargo pants pocket. Faith must have slipped it into her bag when packing at the Hyperion. It was cold against her fingers but it was comforting. It had been with her through everything. It had literally saved her neck from vamps who'd managed to get too close. The Master excluded.

She'd been buried in this cross.

"Buffy?" Brian was behind her. "If you don't hurry, Vince and Rome won't leave you any."

"This cross bears eight years of weight and heartache. I don't know if I can wear it again."

"Oh Buffy." Brian wrapped his arms around her. "Wearing that shows that while you can move forward, your past and everyone in it is still carried with you. You are strong enough to carry your past. And when you aren't, I will always be there to help you be strong again."

"We both will," Dom said. Buffy and Brian both turned and saw him standing in the doorway. He had changed into a black wife beater and a pair of dark work jeans that had lightened after years in the wash. He smiled at them.

Brian took the necklace from her hands and put it around her neck and did up the clasp.

"Come on, let's go get breakfast before Rome and Vince eat it all," Brian said. Buffy nodded and gave him a small smile. She pressed her forehead to his shoulder for a moment before walking past Dom to the kitchen.

* * *

Brian watched Dom watch Buffy walk down the hall, Dom's eyes tracing her body as she went.

"Hey!" Brian hissed. Dom raised his eyebrow.

"She is not for you!" Brian pointed his finger at him. Dom smirked and followed Buffy to breakfast.

"Goddamn it." Brian hung his head. The big brother part of him now knew how Dom felt when he had first shown an interest in Mia.


	6. Finding A Heading

_a/n: Still don't own Fast franchise or Buffy & co. Sorry for the delay, I hope a longer chapter will make up for it. Brian and I had some issues and so chapter 5 has been edited and re-posted, I know he is a little out of character. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I love knowing that people are enjoying the story. Hobbs will be introduced soon! A little warning for anyone particular, I am not car savvy but I'll try to do my best!_

 **Chapter 6: Finding A Heading  
**

It was cramped in the dining room which was really just an offshoot space of the kitchen. The long wooden table was pock marked and scratched from years of rough housing, heavy car parts, and children wielding cutlery. Mixed plates were set out, some with a curling blue and yellow Moroccan design and others splashed with red picked up from a garage sale just down the road. Mugs of coffee were as eclectic and particular as the people drinking from them.

"Alright guys, make room," Mia announced holding a glass pan of bacon warm from the oven over her head to keep fingers away. Vince and Rome were at the ready, forks clutched, Letty sitting behind them on the hip height half wall separating the dining room from the kitchen. Plates of eggs, hash browns, a small mountain of toast, and a large bowl of sliced watermelon clustered together at the centre of the table. Rome reached out a hand to the toast and Mia flicked it with a kitchen towel.

"Ah ah, we wait," Mia threatened. Letty snickered into her coffee.

"The disrespect 'round here is real man," grumbled Rome.

Dom walked into the kitchen and grabbed the newspaper off the counter. Articles were still being run about the crater, listing possible causes and a newly updated list of casualties. Of the survivors and safe evacuees listed with whereabouts for concerned loved ones, Buffy was not included although Dom knew that was simply because Buffy and her fellow slayers and friends had kept their involvement and presence quiet as to not attract any unwanted attention. With nothing else hidden in the mindless ads to intrigue him, he discarded it next to Letty and sat at the head of the table, leaning back in his chair and taking a sip from the mug Mia had set out for him.

"You spoil me," Dom told Mia. She shrugged and sat next to him.

"Morning Dom," said Letty. "How's Brian coping?"

"Little buster's got his panties in a twist again?" laughed Vince. He had showered through the commotion and was unaware of Brian's brotherly crisis.

"I simply have a greater respect for Dom's frustration when I first popped up and starting dating Mia," said Brian, joining them with a full cup of coffee and Buffy trailing behind him.

"Damn granny shifter," growled Dom. Everyone shared and laugh and Brian blushed it off good naturedly. Buffy had stopped next to Letty where Dom had put the paper on the ledge next her her and was staring at the head lines with glazed eyes,

 **Freak Sinkhole Cause Still Unknown, Geologists Fear New Fault line**

"Morning Buffy." Buffy tore her eyes away from the paper and looked up to see all eyes on her. Mia smiled and patted the seat next between her and Rome. Brian kissed Mia on the cheek and scooted around to the other end of the table. "Did you sleep well? If you were cold, there are always extra blankets and there's a fan around here somewhere if you were too warm."

"I uh, slept just fine. Thanks again for letting me stay over." Buffy left the paper and took the seat offered. Letty sat across from Rome and food was quickly scraped, sorted, and snitched onto every one's plates. Easy chatter flew back and forth over the table as food disappeared.

"Have you got any plans for the day Buff?" Brian's voice redirected focus back to her and she had to stop and think about it. There were things she should do but didn't feel like and things she wanted to do but knew she'd feel awful about afterwards.

"I need to make a couple of calls. Faith and Andrew mostly, sort out any business that may have fallen through the cracks and get an update on any plans made by Giles, Willow, and Xander. Best not to be blind sided down the road." She ate a piece of water melon as Brian nodded his head and the everyone else tried to pretend they weren't taking every word apart for its hidden meaning.

"Also, there's someplace I need to go visit. I have to double check where it is with Andrew. I have no idea how long I'll be there either, could be thirty minutes or three hours." Brian drew his eyebrows together in confusion and interest. He hoped she didn't mean back to the crater. He had no doubt that she would be back there within the next month or two but it was too soon now.

"Someone you need to see?" he asked. Buffy shrugged her shoulders non-committed and finished off her toast and he realized the someone might not be particularly human.

"Dom, Rome and I'll be at the shop until three. We won't be able to give you a ride," Brian reminded her.

"Can't drive?" snarked Vince, still carrying an unknown beef with Buffy.

"Don't drive," Buffy retorted. She and Brian both knew why she didn't. Her senses and reflexes were so wide spread and attuned that she would react faster than drivers around her making for "reckless" driving. And as she had once discovered, if she was attacked while driving, she couldn't defend herself. It was decided unanimously from then on she would be a passenger instead of a driver.

"I can take you," said Letty, her voice a bit gravelly still from sleep. All eyebrows raised and she shrugged. "Brian tells me you're the one to thank for helping me get away from that crazy ass Felix. Least I can do is play taxi." Brian threw a glance Buffy's way and she gave a light nod. Either it was safe for Letty to see or Buffy would reveal all to her.

"As long as you don't charge me, I'm broke," Buffy reasoned. Letty grinned.

"Deal."

"Who do you need to see?" Brian asked. She could tell he was trying not to pry while making sure she wasn't doing anything too dangerous but she felt a little nagged.

"Sineya," Buffy mumbled through her coffee. Brian stopped, choked swallowing his food, and stared at her. Conversation had stopped again and everyone was struggling to comprehend what was so startling.

"Are you, I mean that's..." Brian stumbled over his words. "Is that a good idea?"

"There are some things I need answered." Dom frowned to himself, having already guessed the undertones of the conversation. Sineya was in some way dangerous, either to Buffy or others. And while it sounded like a woman's name, it could have been some species of little blue cave dwelling demons for all he knew.

"Tell you what. Some parts got delivered to the house that need to go to the shop. You hitch a ride with Letty, help us unload the boxes, get an idea of town and where the shop is, then you can head out to where ever you to," Dom reasoned. Buffy thought about it. She didn't like the way he worded it, as if she needed his permission to go out. But then, this was his home, his family, and his friend giving him a ride. She probably shouldn't split hairs.

"Sounds good." Dom nodded to her and tucked into the last of his breakfast just as everyone else. Buffy swallowed the last of her eggs and coffee, pushed away from the table and began washing her dishes in the kitchen sink.

"You can leave that you know," Mia said. Buffy gave a little smirk as she dried them.

"I have a little sister. I know what happens when dishes get left in the sink. I don't wish it on anyone." Mia laughed and gave a pointed look around the table.

"I'm going to put my stuff away and call Faith. Let me know when you wanna head out," she said to Dom and ducked into the hall at his nod.

The table was quiet except for the scrape of forks against plates and the clank of cups on the table. Dom sat back over his empty plate.

"Is Sineya," he paused over the name, unsure of the pronunciation "someone we have to worry about?" he asked Brian. Brian pushed his chair out an dropped his dishes in the sink, before scrubbing them up and putting them in the draining tray just to the right of the double sink.

"The only person Sineya can hurt is Buffy," Brian stated before also leaving to prepare for his day at the shop. And also eavesdrop if he was going to be honest with himself. Roman, Vince, Letty and Mia all watched him leave then turned their eyes on Dom.

"You still think this was a good idea?" Vince mumbled. Letty and Mia glared at him while Rome rolled his eyes.

"There's a lot going on here Buffy isn't ready to share. When she is, you'll better understand. Until then, try to remember some of the things your momma taught when it came to ladies." Dom arched a brow at him, a silent remark that he wasn't going to put up with any bullshit.

Vince smirk as he left the table and dropped his plate into the sink.

He never could resist a challenge.

* * *

 _"Yeah, who's it?"_

"Faith, it's Buffy."

 _"Hey B, glad you called."_ Faith's voice softened just enough to related her sincerity. _"How's the change of scenery doin' ya?"_

"Alright so far. Actually got some sleep last night. Brian's friends are a little rough, but they're ok."

" _What, not goody goody enough for you? They stay up past your bed time?_ "

"Shut up." Buffy cracked a smile and sat down on the top step at the front of the house. The sky was turning from orange to blue as the light cloud cover began to burn off.

"Listen, I was hoping you could give me an update. And I need to talk to Andrew if he's there, it's important."

" _Oh my god B, if he calls me gentle viewer while pointing that stupid recorder at me one more time, I'm going to slap him back through puberty._ " They both shared a laugh.

" _Things are tense. The scoobs area mix of screw up and realization and that little slayer, ah shit what's her name. K-something? Kensy?_ "

"Kennedy."

" _Yeah, that one. She is really pushing the limits. Has it in her head that being a slayer for three months and the battle of the Hellmouth coupled with all the little fights he's been in, gives her the right to the same respect you have._ "

"She has done really well in training, and she pulled out of Sunnydale. She should be proud."

" _I'm proud Buffy. You are, Giles is of you and all the girls. Kennedy is arrogant. And it is going to get someone hurt, most likely someone else_."

Buffy rubbed her free hand over her eyes. Kennedy had been a problem ever since joining. She thought slayer powers gave her divine right. That she was good, anything else was bad, and anyone telling her how to do something was just trying to screw her up. It was just as tiring was it was dangerous.

"The others?"

" _Xander and Red are still out of their heads. Their planning to relocate to Britain, to the old Watcher headquarters. Angel is organizing air transport now_." Buffy held her breath for a moment.

"Giles?"

" _I've found him cozy with a bottle more than once. I think he might be opening up to just what he put you through the last little while and he isn't dealing with it well. He's trying to keep face but keeping one slayer in line was hard enough for him. Thirty seven is really pushing it_."

"I miss him. I was hoping I would be able to introduce Brian to him at least once."

" _I think it'll be workable._ " There was a mumbling in the background. Faith moved the phone away from her face and Buffy could hear the high voice of Andrew coming closer. There was some whining and swearing before Andrew's voice came clearly through the phone.

" _Buffy_?"

"Hi Andrew." He started to cry.

" _Are you feeling better_?"

"I am. Thanks for helping Faith put my bag together."

" _I made sure to include a first aid kit, lots of Epsom salts, your small wet stone, your brown lace up Frye boots, and the scythe_."

"I saw, thank you. Those salts will do much of the good."

" _Kennedy was going to keep it._ "

"My Epsom salts?" Buffy was sure they had enough of a supply to go around.

" _No_." She could feel him roll his eyes. " _The scythe. She kept taking it to practice with and carrying it around._ " Oh.

"I don't think she is ready for the scythe quiet yet." Buffy really didn't. She had no problems sharing the weapon in battle with her sister slayers, but she earned the right to carry it. Sineya had shown that to her at least.

" _Yeah_." They were both quiet again.

" _Ugh, if you two are done, I need to wrap this up_." Faith took control again.

" _We have to finish up here. I'm going to be staying state side, continue slaying here for a bit. If you need anything, get in touch. I'll be down to ah, check up on you in a couple days_."

"Brian's dating someone."

" _Of course he is. Let me guess, he is devoted and doesn't stray._ "

"Sorry Faith."

" _Whatever. Keep your head straight yeah?"_

"Wait! I almost forgot. Can you put Andrew on again?" The phone on the other side was passed back.

"I need you to do me a favour."

" _Sure. What is it?"_

"I need you to get me the location and ritual to summon Sineya."

* * *

Brian, Dom, Vince and Letty were all waiting in the driveway by the open garage when Buffy finished her call and met up with them. They quickly split up the boxes and hauled them into their separate vehicles. Once loaded, one by one they pulled out an headed across town.

"Everything all right?" Letty asked, glancing sideways at Buffy in the passenger seat while down shifting for a stop light.

"Just family drama." Letty nodded and accelerated at the green.

"What is it about you that has Brian's panties in such a knot?"

Buffy glances at her then turned to look stubbornly out the window while trying to conjure a reply. She wasn't ready to bear the truth. She wasn't entirely sure why she had elaborated so deeply to Dom so early that morning. Buffy could use his already knowing as an excuse but that wasn't it. There was something in Brian which she had also seen in Dom, that is, she knew that he wouldn't think of her differently or judge once he knew the hardships of being the Chosen One had put on her.

"Sunnydale had a wealth of problems. Brian knows about them but his being here and being a cop made it difficult to come visit when he wanted to," Buffy said.

"You mean when it was needed," Letty Corrected. Buffy looked at her. Letty's eyes were on the road but she had a bit of a smirk.

"I can read between the lines. It's also part of the reason he was so irrational this morning. No matter how much he wanted to help with whatever it was, big brother couldn't. So he bottled it up." Letty dropped that bombed then pulled up alongside Toretto's Garage behind Vince.

"All I can say right now is it isn't illegal and it isn't dangerous. If and when that changes, I'll repack my duffle and be outta your hair before you know it. Brian loves you guys. I'm not going to let my problems catch up with me and put that at risk," Buffy assured. Letty nodded.

"Just remember to keep yourself safe too."

 _Hope you enjoyed! Please review, it gives me a warm glow in my heart. Buffy's meeting with the first slayer and her first Street race will be up next. Hobbs will pop up in the next chapter or the one after._


	7. Returning to Her Roots

_a/n: Many apologies to everyone who has been reading (you make my day just so you know) for the lateness. University has been kicking my behind. However here it is. New characters and old characters will be popping up in this chapter and the next few so stay with me! Hope you enjoy, please review!_

 _Ps. still not mine…..Either of them…so sad. Neither are any brand names mentioned in this chapter._

 _Pss. The reason this was so late is that I went on auto-pilot and the first half of this chapter was a slightly differently written version of the previous chapter. Because I am just so smart._

 **Chapter 7: Returning to Her Roots**

Dom assured her they didn't need her help unloading boxes so she snuck outside to a patch of as yet weak sun light to call Andrew again. Going back through the call log she found Faith's number and hit redial hoping for the best.

" _Yeah?"_

"Faith? It's Buffy."

" _Well well . Queeny is back already. What did you do now?"_

"Ha-ha bitch, I do not create trouble that fast _Miss arrested-more-than-once_. And I told you not to call me that."

" _Too late, Miss Slayer Queen. Your new knick name has been spreading all throughout the demonic underworld and in all their knitting circles."_

"Great." The was a brief pause and lots of static filled shuffling while Faith held the cell between her cheek and shoulder.

" _What's up then?"_

"I need to check in with Andrew, I'm hoping he will have had enough time to sort together what I need. And I have a computer and printer at my disposal."

" _Whatever it is you are planning to do better not start anything."_

"It shouldn't. Just a spiritual journey through the desert with a less then helpful Sineya. Though who knows, it is only 8 in the morning."

" _Oh god, don't say that. All I want is some peace and quiet so I can take Robin with me somewhere hot and un-demonic and get freaky on a beach for a couple days."_

"Ew. Putting that thought and corresponding images firmly out of my brain. Is Andrew available to talk without nosy scoobies listening in?" Buffy glanced back into the garage. Already their love for cars was breaking their early morning sluggishness.

" _Yeah. Red and Xander have been assuming control aka bossing him around all morning so prepare for him to be a little whiny. Give me just a moment, to find him, I'll put him on."_ There was the muffled sound of Faith asking some of the potentials where Andrew was through her hand over the mouth piece.

" _Buffy?"_ A smile came over her at his frantic tone.

"Yeah. Hi Andrew."

" _Oh it is you! I've almost got everything you wanted. There are just a few things to finish translating. Is everything ok there? Have you had any busy patrols? Should I make you up a couple new first aid kits?"_

"Woah there Andrew, calm down. I'm fine, still, you just talked to me an hour ago. I haven't even busted out a band aid since I last saw you," Buffy soothed.

" _Giles wants to go back to England and start proper training and teaching for all the new slayers, and there are so many things to organize, and they aren't doing what they are told, and Willow and Xander are being mean to me."_

"I'm sorry to leave you with them. Has Faith been keeping everything more or less running?"

" _Oh yes, Faith is doing a great job but she isn't as good at it as you."_ There was a distant _'Hey'_ in the background.

" _Ow! Don't throw stakes at me! I might not get dusty but I could still get hurt!"_ Buffy could hear Faith yelling through the phone ' _It wasn't even sharpened'_. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Andrew? If you have a couple minutes, I need your help with a couple things."

" _Name them."_ So eager to help.

"I need you to do a little research for me." She glanced sideways to check her brother was out of hearing range.

" _What kind are you talking about?"_ Andrew was absolutely miffed.

"I need to know what kind of social life is geared towards demons in LA. In Sunnydale I had places to go for information and I knew which demons were neutral. I have no knowledge of existing territories, species, or hangouts to either keep an eye on or avoid."

" _Oh. Ooooooh, I can do that. Did you know that some demons have joined the techno age? Some of them have hornscript pages."_

"Horn-, I , what?"

"It's the _demonic version of social media. I'll make you an account._ _I'll need another hour to finish this and send it to you. How can I get it to you?"_

"There's a computer and printer in the office of Brian's friend's garage. Just send it to my email and I'll print it out."

" _Will do ma'am."_

"Don't call me ma'am."

" _Will do sir."_ And Andrew hung up. Buffy rolled her eyes again and stowed the phone in her back pocket.

"All good?" Letty asked, coming out to join her on the curbside.

"I hope so, you can never completely tell with him," Buffy mumbled.

* * *

Buffy stood there in a daze as the Garage was filled with a sense of purpose. The Lights were turned on, car width doors rolled up into the ceiling, and machinery warmed up after their disuse. It had been a long time since high school but Buffy felt like a ditzy cheerleader all over again surrounded by gear heads and grease monkeys.

At least they weren't in a library.

Dom came up next to her and rested a warm hand on her shoulder. She leaned into his warmth and let herself feel just a little less out of place. She wasn't a cheerleader anymore; she wasn't a lost college student or a suffering worker at Doublemeat palace.

"Everything alright?" he asked quietly.

"It will be, I'm just getting a few answers" Buffy assured him.

"If that's all, why is Brian so worked up?" She let out a huff and jammed her hands in her pockets.

"I've gone to her for answers before and I didn't really like what I got." Dom turned her slightly so he could meet her eyes.

"Before I jumped" he nodded his head now understanding some context. If whatever had been told to her had had any part in her decision to jump, then it was no wonder Brian didn't like this Sineya.

"Yo Dom, distracted already?" Vince called from the back of the garage, dirt and grease already covering his hands. Dom, Letty and Buffy all pulled a major eye roll and walked into the still lightly paint scented garage.

"I hope you know that if I ended up staying with you for any amount of time, he will eventually get a smack upside the head for his sassy comments," Buffy warned Dom.

"What? Afraid of the competition?" Dom laughed at her glare and assured her quietly so Vince didn't hear. "I guessed as much just from what Brian is like. You two are too similar not to rub Vince the wrong way just like your brother."

Brian abandoned the small sporty looking yellow car he was working on and walked up to Buffy. Give her any weapon she could figure it out but she just could not bring herself to memorize what symbol meant which car. Already his well used grey oil brand swag t-shirt had another grease stain at the hem.

"Everything work out?" Brian asked, slinging a dirty arm around her shoulders and grinning as she tilted her head as far away as possible.

"Yeah, Andrew will send it to my email if I could use your office computer and printer. Also, if there is a map I could investigate I'll be less clueless Buffy navigating the desert."

"Sure. It's all in here. Let's see if it all still works," he said, steering her into the small office, unaware of Dom's eyes following Buffy.

Twenty minutes later Buffy had her chant and her map along with an old ornamental squash like gourd that Brian had run out and stole from the porch of a seventies chic, zoned out, nature geek that lived around the corner from the garage. Buffy tried not to condone thievery but Brian looked like he had enjoyed that tiny bit of mischief so much she decided not to say anything. Everything was dropped into a Lord Co bag held tightly in Buffy's fist.

Brian has also revealed his big brother talents by producing a small day cooler supplying bottled water, Gatorade, apples, granola bars, and a couple of sandwiches that Mia had whipped up to keep Buffy and Letty going in the heat of LA's surrounding desert.

"You ready to go?" Letty called from outside.

"Yeah, just a sec." Brian hugged Buffy.

"Please be safe. And don't let what she says worm its way under your skin without sharing it with me or Faith." Brian met her eyes. "Just to make your big brother feel better, let me help in the ways I can."

Buffy hugged him back and _hmmmed_.

"If you really want to do something for me, you could see if there is a spot somewhere I could set up some gym stuff. I need to work out, I'm getting twitchy." Buffy looked up at him with purposeful doe eyes and he scoffed and looked away.

"Don't think I'm saying yes 'cause you gave me the look."

They smiled and Buffy released him to join Letty and head out.

Dom nodded to her as she passed. Already regulars were beginning to pop up for automotive maintenance and reconnecting with Dom, Vince, and even Brian.

Buffy walked out and stood next to Letty. The sun was no longer touching the earth, already the promised heat of the day was beginning to make its appearance.

"Ready when you are."

"Where are we headed?" Letty asked, slipping aviators onto her face to battle the sun. Buffy dug out the printed page with the small map along the bottom and folded the page over so she could show her just the map. Letty studied it before making a noise of understanding.

"I know where that is, it shouldn't take us more than half hour to forty minutes to get there."

"By everyone else's standards or by yours?" Buffy asked. Letty didn't answer but smirked as she revved her ride.

* * *

It was a quiet drive first along a rural highway then out into the desert on gentle terrain. Buffy spent the drive alternating between looking out the rolled down window and silently mouthing the words Andrew had provided for her. A certain amount of nerves had wormed its way into her belly.

What would she do if Sineya gave her an answer similar to the last time?

What if she went crazy and tried to attack her again?

Probably best not to think about it and just work with what happens when it does.

"Are you sure this is right?" Letty asked for the second time since they left the road, now driving on packed sand and dried mud.

"Yeah, we'll have to park just ahead, we can't continue by car."

Letty pulled around into the little alcove where Giles had the year and a bit before. The ground was going from dark yellow sand and gentle rocky ground to dunes of sand and boulders or various sizes making it impossible to continue with a car.

Buffy got out at looked at the familiar view between the rocky outcroppings next to the car. Getting a borrowed small duffle from the trunk that held the sticks and gourd and pushed the paper into a side pocket, Buffy rallied her spirits.

"How's this going to work? As far as I can tell, we're the only people for a good couple miles in any direction and we are in no way equipped to hike through the desert. Whoever it is that you are supposed to be meeting has either stood you up or is going to have a hard time finding this place," Letty groused.

"She's already here," Buffy muttered. Letty looked at her for a couple minutes until Buffy was thoroughly uncomfortable.

"This is going to get weird isn't it?" Letty asked, already preparing for some strange and stereotypical witchy ceremony like the ones she'd seen in two bit movies.

"It could. Why don't you hang out here in the shade" Buffy point to the large shady patches created by the rocks they'd parked next to." I won't be longer than about an hour. I'll take some water and an apple and be back before you know it."

* * *

Letty watched Buffy walk into the mirage like heat waves coming off the sand from her shade protected spot by her car. She hoped to Jesse's car spirits that Buffy would come back. She didn't think Brian would be terribly please if she lost Buffy in the desert during her freaky spiritual jaunt.

* * *

There she was, standing in front of her.

Perfectly upright, face emotionless under her white face paint, Sineya stared at Buffy while not saying a word. Her dreads blew against the wind, responding to a breeze not shared on the physical plane.

"I knew you'd be back." Sineya's voice was rather scratchier than last time she'd heard from her.

"I think we both knew."

"What do you seek from me now?"

"A sign of which path to walk," Buffy sighed and scrubbed her palms over her eyes. "I listened to you. I embraced the love around me; I wouldn't have made it without it. I used my gift, my life to close that portal and save the world. I saw that my power wasn't enough and shared it. What now? I've given everything I can and now I'm not needed." Buffy hadn't noticed that she'd raised her voice. Sineya kept staring but her gaze had softened somewhat.

"You are the longest called Slayer, Buffy Summers. Do you know why?" Sineya asked. Buffy shook her head even though she could have responded. It seemed pretty rhetorical.

"You have had love and support and the need to protect not the faceless populace but the important few of your friends and family. Your original family has fractured. Too often have they wielded power and not cleaned it up or felt the consequences. You do and that makes you formidable. You know when to stop Buffy Summers. I have too much demon in me. You have enough human to keep both sides of your self strong."

Buffy was quiet for a long time.

"You know, I hated you a little bit. After each time that I dealt with you in whatever way. You were a reminder of my origins that I had fought against for so long. Despite all of the reason I was given to see and embrace the grey scale of the balance, I still hated you and him." Buffy choked slightly thinking about his face in the Hellmouth and he burned from the inside out.

"But I want to say thank you. You were honest to where it hurt. And I needed honesty that wasn't given with the intention that it would hurt."

Sineya dipped her head in understanding. They stood there in silence a little while longer.

"Your dreams will start again. There will be places that need you. But you will have help Buffy Summers, all you have to do is ask." As Sineya spoke, the edges of her image started to blur and pale until she bit by bit turned to sand and blew away on the wind Buffy couldn't feel.

"Thank you, sister Slayer," Buffy whispered.


	8. Slayer Queen Speaketh

_a/n: Hello again lovely readers! Thanks for your support and reviews. Please review with your questions and comment, I love knowing that someone is reading it besides me._ _Next chapter will be the first street face_.

 _Characters are not mine. If they were, Angel would have a bald spot._

 **Chapter 8: Slayer Queen Speaketh**

 **a.k.a.**

 **Bond Between Sisters**

 **a.k.a.**

 **How Vince Learned to Hold His Tongue**

Letty came awake with Buffy standing over her, gently shaking her shoulder. She got up and stretched from where she had laid out on a somewhat flat bit of exposed rock in an attempt to not get to much sand in her clothes or anything that lived in it. Licking her dry lips she pushed her sunglasses on to her head and squinted at Buffy. There was lightness about her. Obviously whatever wacky stuff she had been doing had made her feel better and Letty decided she would put her skepticism and curiosity away for later than demanding answers now.

"How long has it been, do you know?" Buffy asked cracking the seal on her water bottle. Letty groaned, popping her back, and dug her phone out of her back pocket to check the time.

"It is almost 10. You were only gone about an hour," Letty told her. She squinted into the sun and pushed her sunglasses back down onto her face. Buffy stared at her for a moment.

"You good?" Buffy asked.

"Apart from the sand I have in my girly bits, I'm great. As far as I can tell, I haven't been stung by scorpions either."

Buffy smiled. They shared a moment of question while looking out over the golden sand laying still under the wide spanning heat mirages that rippled the azure sky line, every now and then Letty would surreptitiously glance at her out of the corner of her eye.

"Just ask."

"What?" Letty grumped.

"You've got questions."

"Look at where we are and what we've been doing, which I actually don't know the answer to and I'm not totally sure I want to, to be honest."

"It didn't get too weird for you" Buffy reminded her.

"Yeah but I know there is something big hidden in the subtext and only Brian and Dom are getting sub titles at all."

Buffy gave a short laugh and contemplated her again.

"Tell you what. Let's find somewhere I can eat half my weight in waffles and I'll explain it all. Brian only told Dom, he wanted it to be my choice and I think it's the right time to tell you," Buffy suggested, vaguely enough to both intrigue and irritate Letty.

"Are you paying?"

"Yes."

"Then get your skinny ass in the car, we've got waffles to find," Letty said. Buffy smiled and slipped into the passenger seat.

Out of the desert and back into the edges of the city, they managed to find an inexpensive and clean breakfast and brunch emporium chain. It was a Friday so the only other patrons were some older couples having a special breakfast out with their grand kids and what looked like a few road trippers who had stopped to treat themselves to something not bought from a corner grocery mart.

A cheery waitress in her late forties led them to their window booth with a smile and promised to be back with their coffees, leaving them to stare into the secrets of the other (Letty) and hunt for dessert like breakfast items (Buffy). Linda, their sunny faced waitress came back and left again with the promise of eggs Benedict for Letty and an enormous plate of waffles with savory sausage and fresh strawberries on the side for Buffy.

"How can you be so hungry? We only ate breakfast at the house a couple hours ago," Letty asked awed and daunted by the order.

"I'll explain that at the end. It'll make more sense if I don't get ahead of myself. You religious at all?" Buffy asked, adjusting the dairy and sugar content of her coffee.

"Not exactly actively, I mean, I haven't gone to church since my teens when Dom and Mia's dad was around." Letty shrugged. There were traditions around the house, like saying grace, but when it came down to it, no one prayed to the big man to help them out. If they wanted results they had to work from them.

"That makes it somewhat easier. You see there isn't a divine singular power. There are multiple, simply called the "Powers That Be" and they maintain the balance of everything and act through the power of their designated Oracles who give prophesies and generally are a pain in the ass. Thousands of years ago, a group of men endowed with magic and sorcery found a way to combat the dark forces that constantly plagued the Earth," Letty's eyebrows raised but she kept quiet.

"They took a girl named Sineya and put the spirit of a demon in her, tied it with her life force. She became the first Slayer with increased speed, reflexes, intuition, healing, strength, and the purpose of being the sole defender of the, essentially, light forces. I know, it is awfully cheesy, just let me finish," Buffy held up a hand to stop Letty from either starting to run away or calling her a bunch of unpleasant names.

"However they couldn't afford to lose her so they somehow linked her spirit to this world and after her death, her powers went to another girl in her mid teens and she became the slayers. There is some prophecy or something; it goes 'in every generation, there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the Vampire, demons, and forces of darkness' or something along those lines. Of course, a lot of them don't tend to last all that long. The Watcher's Council-"

"Seriously?" Letty interrupted.

"Not as creepy as it sounds, I promise. Just a bunch of stuffy old guys in tweed suits who look down on everyone" Buffy assured. Taking a moment to take another bite and drink the last cooling sip of her coffee.

"The Watcher's Council is made of people who watcher over, train, document, and research everything other worldly and slayer related. When a slayer is called, a watcher is sent to her to train her. But sometimes they don't get their fast enough, they watch potentials for signs but it can still be a tricky business. Often slayers will last anywhere from a couple months to a couple years, tapping out around eighteen to twenty years old."

Letty may not have totally believed her but she could see where this was going. That would mean that thousands of teenagers and young women had died in the stead of those who were trained, educated, and dedicated.

Buffy was quiet as Linda came by and took their emptied plates away.

"I was called at fifteen, I've been the slayer for nearly ten years. When I told my parents about the man who had told me of this great destiny and of the Vampires he had taught me how to kill, I found myself in a psychiatric institution. They let me out once I realised that shutting up was the only way I was getting out."

"What about Brian? How did he find out?" Letty asked.

"Turns out our dad was a bigger jerk than previously thought. My mom was his second wife and Brian got in touch with him in his mid-teens which is what alerted my mom to Brian's mom and started their separation."

"He remarried?" Letty asked, not getting the problem.

"That would imply a divorce."

"Oooooooh." Letty thought about that for a moment. "What a dick."

"By the time Brian came to stay with us, he was in Spain with his secretary. He and my mom divorced after I got home from the looney bin and then my mom and I moved to Sunnydale. It turns out, Brian always wanted a little sister and he didn't let his anger with our dad affect his opinion of me or my mom. We shared everything, he was the first person I told about becoming the slayer and after my couple week stint locked up, we agreed that we would keep any secret necessary to protect each other."

"Cute." Letty could see it, especially after his behaviour this morning.

"So he went off and got in trouble then eventually became a cop and I stayed in Sunnydale stopping the apocalypse every second Tuesday with several poor boyfriend choices along the way."

"Sounds tiresome" Letty said thoughtfully. And she thought her family drama had been bad. With their truck heists and house parties after races, at least the forces of darkness hadn't been out to make sure they all died. "Wait a second. With the reflexes, strength and speed and all that fancy stuff, is that why you can eat so much and not be grossly unhealthy?"

"Yes to both. The Slayer has a few links to the mystic, spiritual, magical parts of the world. Call it what you like really. It just means that prophetic dreams and spiritual experiences like meeting Sineya requires energy just like going slaying or running for a long time."

"That explains why do don't look like you are going to hork after your enormous second breakfast."

Buffy smiled at her and pulled out her wallet as Linda came by with the bill and portable card reader.

"Why tell me, if you don't mind me asking? It just seems a little sudden and how did you know that I would just blurt it out to anyone once you did?"

"You remind me of my sister Slayer Faith. She started out pretty rough, she still is sometimes, but while she has this overly confident bitch face, she will do anything to keep friends and family safe. That's why I trust her and when I started to recognize that in you, especially after hearing about you and all the others from phone calls with Brian, I knew I could trust you too."

By now they had moved back outside into the full heat of the day. Letty was quiet. And slightly flattered by the comparison. She was trying to reconcile her reality with a story that was, quite frankly, too ridiculous to be made up. Not only that, Brian had understood what she meant at breakfast and had reacted as if all of this was true. And if it was true, that would explain why Buffy went out into the desert to talk to someone who was there but wasn't. Letty drew in a deep breath to stop the impending hysterics.

Letty started her car and pulled out into traffic. The atmosphere in the car was much heavier and more somber now. Letty mulled that confession over while pulling onto one of the blocks neighbouring the garage.

"Does that mean I have a bitch face?" Letty asked, face blank, when she pulled up the alley. Buffy laughed.

"A bit. It's a good one though." Buffy smiled at her and got out of the car. Letty joined her laughter, pulled the key from the ignition and followed her.

"Wait a second, you said sister Slayer. I thought there could only be one at a time." Letty was pretty sure all this magic nonsense was purposefully breaking its own rules just to confuse her.

"It acts like a chain reaction, that's true. When I was sixteen I was facing this one vampire. Everyone just referred to him as the Master. He was several centuries old, really ugly, had fruit punch mouth, the whole works. It turns out there was a prophecy in a codex, from god only knows how long ago, that I would face him and die. I couldn't do much about it though I tried so I went and faced him."

"I'm guessing the next part is you died but you are standing here in the sun and breathing so…"

"Yeah, if I were a vampire, me and sun would not be so mixy. He took a mouthful then dropped me in a puddle. I was too weak and I drowned. My friend Xander had followed after me and gave me CPR in time to bring me back but I had been dead for long enough that the next Slayer was called. So the chain continued on without me. That's how Faith is a Slayer."

"I think I might need a drink."

"Sorry," Buffy said smiling. "It doesn't get any simpler, it just becomes the new normal."

* * *

Vince whistled when Buffy and Letty walked in side by side making Brian and Dom look up from the cars they were working on. Letty patted her on the shoulder and headed to an alcove at the back of the garage where a pair of coveralls were waiting for her. She didn't used to mind getting grease and other things on her clothes but Mia had finally had enough of having to wash their grody work clothes so they had all dedicated a set to an inevitable dirty end.

"What took you ladies so long, hunh?" Vince was still suspicious and it wasn't doing his aggressive foot-in-mouth tendencies any good.

"Sorry, we were making out in the back seat of Letty's Plymouth. It took longer than I thought to get our shirts back on. You know, limited space and all," Buffy snarked at him as she passed him on her way to Brian, who was slowly turning pink as he tried to control his breathing through hysterical laughter.

There was the sound of Vince's wrench clattering on the clement floor and his foot followed by some swearing. Dom smirked and lifted his eyebrows at her before disappearing back behind the hood of the neon green Subaru he was fixing.

Brian continued to work on the exposed engine block as Buffy came up alongside him but he angled himself to make it obvious he was encouraging conversation.

"How was she?" He asked, keeping a lighter tone than he probably felt.

"Better than last time. I got the answers that I needed, and she was even nice about it," Buffy murmured, leaning her head on his shoulder, feeling his working muscles flex under her temple. It was a comforting feeling, one she'd often felt when he had visited and couldn't sit still. She'd sit next to or behind him and rest her head against his shoulders or back and just keep him company. Brian had even once joked that she was his personal watch cat.

"So things are starting to look up, yeah?"

"Yup. Thank you, brother," Buffy hugged him around his middle. Brian pressed his mostly clean elbow into her back in a pseudo hug.

"You're welcome, sister," he smiled back at her.

"You getting' soft over there buster? Don't let wreck your driving or we'll have you standing with the chasers." Vince still obviously hadn't learned to watch his mouth. Brian had feeling he knew where this was going and was frantically praying to whoever was inclined to listen, that Vince would stop there.

"Maybe you should show Buffy around. She'll fit right in with the racer chasers."

Nope. No one was listening. Brian cursed under his breath.

Everyone was looking at him now as he slowly swaggered over to Buffy, thumbs in his pockets so his hands framed his crotch, a slight leer on his face. Buffy looked at him with eyebrows raised.

"You mean run around in shiny underwear and stupidly high heels? No thanks. I can dress like a slut but I tend to dress like a tasteful slut."

Vince was standing in front of her now, looking her up and down.

"Oh yeah, what's the difference? Sound like one of those ox things to me."

"That's oxymoron, moron," Letty yelled from the other side of the shop. Vince waved her answer away without looking at her.

"The difference is I wear actually pants, though they are usually leather, and reasonably high heels. I have to make is still have full range should something exciting happen," Buffy said slyly, her blonde California girl face firmly in place.

Vince raised his eyebrows.

"However that does mean that there isn't really any room for underwear."

Vince swallowed hard. "Really? Can't see you goin' commando."

"Just ask Faith, she knows I do." With that, Buffy flounced over to Dom, gave him a platonic kiss on the cheek that he pressed into and rubbed his nose along her neck, before plopping down on an old leather sofa left for customers and sticking her nose into a racing magazine.

Vince stood there for a moment with his work jeans much tighter than they were five minutes before and a vague blank stare on his face.

Letty grinned and walked over to the couch, leaning over the arm.

"Does Faith really know your underwear wearing habits with leather pants?" She asked said innocently, flipping a page in the magazine. "She wears leather pants too."

"There is a race tonight. Why don't you wear those pants, I'd think Dom would like to check your truth telling skills," Letty said with a salacious grin.


	9. Off To The Races

_a/n: IAM STILL ALIVE! And so is this story. I have been schooling and working, moving cities, fighting dragons but I have finally brought you the next chapter. I'm hoping to complete a chapter every month but we'll see how diligently I can stick to that schedule because people are making me have a social life. Thanks for everyone's support and reviews during the time of silence, reading them gave me a smile. As promised, here is the race, some slaying, and just general up-to-no-goodness. And the rest of this story finally has a direction so hopefully it'll even get finished._

 _P.s. Extra long chapter in apology. And I'm too lazy to put a space in Hellmouth so that's how it'll be spelled from now on._

Chapter 9: Off To The Races

The last rays of the sun were just barely lighting the sky in reds and purples over the desert as the whole house transitioned from family meal to dressing to impress for the upcoming race night. Buffy was still a little sceptical of this whole race business but then again she spent her nights in a completely different, remotely illegal manner so who was she to judge before trying it?

The nights were still fairly warm so Buffy decided she'd have a little fun and wear shorts. The bruises had healed over the course of the day, probably due to finally eating a good meal and having some restful sleep. Only light silvery trails along her skin defined where injuries had been but no one with human eyes would be able to pick up on them, especially with the low street lightly where they were going to hanging out. Riffling through her duffle bag, she laid out a careful assort of both clothes and matching weapons. Mostly things she could easily hide and not have everyone think she was a crazy person.

Buffy wiggled into some high waisted light wash jean shorts what were both long enough to maintain her dignity but short enough not to restrict leg movement. Pulling on a light, black long sleeve shirt, she tucked in the short front into her waist band and left the back to slight overlap the dagger hidden at the small of her back.

"You just about ready?" Brian asked, popping his head around the living room door way with his eyes firmly shut.

"I'm clothed Brian," Buffy assured him.

"Oh good." He looked at her for a moment with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Are you sure you wouldn't want more leg coverage? You could borrow one of my pairs of sweatpants?"

"And look like I escaped from a basement where I've spent the last two weeks watching all of the CSI episodes? No, thank you" Buffy was sceptical about where this line of questioning was going.

"True. You could borrow a pair of Mia's cargo pants? Maybe a nice sweater dress?" Brian proposed.

"Why does she own either? It's the middle of the California desert?"

"She-" Buffy interrupted him.

"No, these are my clothes. And If I want to bare my legs and collarbones to the world then I will," she said. Brian rolled his eyes and disappeared behind down the hall way.

"So there,"Buffy whispered in victory. Her phone chirped and she checked it, finding a somewhat psychic text from Faith.

 _Heard you were going out on the town so to speak. I packed appropriate footwear for you. You're welcome._

Buffy raised both brows. _How did you know?_ She texted back.

 _;)_

Buffy rolled her eyes and peered into the bottom of her duffle like she might find a pair of shoes fashioned out of snakes waiting for her. Instead she found a pair of thigh high, leather, lace up, pointy toed high heeled boots.

Buffy drooled a little.

The stiletto heel was mad out of wood, a beautiful dark wood that had been polished until the grains gleamed. On the arch of the sole on both boots was a coven mark. It was the coven mark of the Unified British Coven that worked alongside the Watcher's Council and had been very helpful and patient with her as she had tried to sort out business with a lack of watchers in England.

That meant they weren't just sexy boots. They were sexy magical boots. With a wooden heel. These boots could literally slay.

Buffy gasped and grinned, dropping down onto the couch to slide on a pair of accommodating socks (because bare feet in closed leather boots, ew) and the boots.

Sexy, magically comfortable and durable, vampire staking boots. Faith was pretty awesome. And finding a birthday present for her on the same level as these was going to be a serious pain in the ass.

Slipping another small knife in the top of her right boot, she stamped her feet and shuffled to get a feel for them. They were flexible enough she could run in them and strong enough she wouldn't be worried about breaking a heel during a fight. Most importantly, they were practical. More so that carrying a giant tooth pick with her everywhere.

She walked into the front hall and found the male members of the household already there, Roman had surfaced from the basement. All of them were wearing black or dark wash jeans and clean t-shirts of wife beaters in varying colours.

Brian smiled at her and tucked her into his side. Letty joined them first, in simple leather combat boots, black jeans that were distressed the old fashioned way, though ware, and I tight red tank top. Really, the similarities between her and Faith were uncanny. As long as she didn't try and sleep with Brian while wielding a crossbow, things would be ok. Mia quickly followed in a white halter top and short swirly skirt.

"Finally," Vince groused letting himself out the door and jogging toward his car.

"That man has the patience of a three year old at a water park" Buffy mumbled.

"Don't let him hear you say that, we can't put him in a time out at the races" Brian retorted. Buffy smiled into his t-shirt.

"Yo homey, get yo' white ass in that golf cart o' yours. We goin' racin' or not? Them ladies be waitin' on they main man Roman to make they night!" Roman yelled from inside his purple and chrome attention grabber. He revved his engine with a loud laugh and was off down the street.

"Oh those poor women" said Letty. Dom, Brian Mia and Buffy shared a laugh and folded themselves into various cars. Vince was already idling waiting for them to get with the program.

One by one they pulled out of the driveway and filled the street and surrounding blocks with the echoes from highly tuned racing engines ready for a long and profitable night.

* * *

Buffy wasn't entirely sure what to expect of the night time street races. The crowds of colourfully and scantily dressed women mingling with car owners and admirers alike with all sorts of modified, supped up, and tricked out classical to foreign cars was almost too much to take in at once. She didn't know where to look first.

The Toretto clan came rolling in in an auspicious reversed V shape, the crowds hollering out names and moving out of the way then with the cars as they parked in a routine that looked too perfect to be unpracticed. Brian patted Buffy's hand and flashed her a smile before getting out of his neon rice rocket, smirk firmly fixed to his face, to stand next to Mia and Dom.

With a deep breath Buffy hoisted herself from the car and let the warm but not stuffy breeze help ease some of her anxiety. Letty came and stood next to her and gave her a slight nudge in her ribs.

"You'll be fine. Just remember to keep your chin up, put on your bitch face, and don't take crap from anyone" Letty said. Buffy nodded then showed her a snooty pout.

"Maybe ease a little there, less priss more powerfully unapproachable" she corrected. Buffy smiled and relaxed her face.

A casually dressed Hispanic man with a beautiful, if slightly under dressed Latina on his arm, came up to them, outstretching a hand to complete a firm handshake. He repeated this to Vince and Roman, gave Brian a polite nod and opened his arms to a quick hug from both Mia and Letty.

"Dom, it's good to finally see you back on the streets. We'd all heard you were back in town after all that trouble went down" there was a direct glance at Brian who rolled his eyes "but we were beginning to think you wouldn't turn up. I've got newbies chomping at the bit to claim being the new king. You gonna make me watch this?"

Dom let out a deep laugh.

"Like I'd let that happen. We had some family business to sort out."

"Oh, the snowman givin' you trouble?" Hector asked with a grin. Brian made a noise of exasperated complaint.

"No, we had a new face come in." Dom stretched a hand out to Buffy and beckoned her forward to curl his muscled arm around her shoulders.

"Hector, this is Buffy. She's Brian's sister, she needed some family to stay with. Make sure your boys are polite and welcoming if she stops by the Racer's Edge" Dom directed. Hector nodded and held out a hand to her.

"Hey chica, I'm Hector. I organise the races though I'm slowly being ousted by that Miami partier Tej."

There was an indignant _Hey_ from Tej's microphone from the other end of the parking segment of the blocked off road.

"You race chica?" Buffy laughed quietly and shook her head.

"I'm not much of a driver. My reflexes and skills are better in person. But who knows, maybe these guys'll wrangle me into a car."

Dom squeezed her shoulders as they all shared wide grins and looks of excitement at the thought of getting Buffy behind the wheel of a highly modified gem of American muscle.

For now, the thoughts of getting behind the wheel of one of these cars was far from Buffy's mind with all the music, flashing of lights which she had been told were popular with Miami racers and was making a rise with LA racers, and the laughing of the crowds talking and dancing by a closed weigh station where a dj had set up shop. She couldn't tell if the shivers and heady rush she was getting was her regular senses overloading from everything going on or if her slayer senses were kicking in. Sweat beaded along her neck and back, as she tried to listen to everything at once. Engines roared and crowds cheered as the first set of four cars pulled on to the road at the painted strip to begin racing.

"Come on," Buffy jolted slightly when Dom put a hand at her back and steered her towards the edge of the road near the rest of the Toretto crew. "I don't want you to miss your first race, we have to get your blood pumping don't we?"

Buffy smiled and walked swiftly towards her brother at the start where he was grinning like an idiot. Tej was standing in the middle of the road flicking a thick bundle of cash with his thumb while hollering at the crowd and drivers to pump them up.

As he raised his hand, the hairs on the back of Buffy's neck prickled and her pupils dilated.

The cars took off, surrounded by squealing tires and burnout as the more amateur racers took off down the road, cheering and yelling following them from the spectators. A buzz in her head made the energy of the racer chasers and wannabes disappear.

A brief yellow double glow caught her eyes in the shadows on the opposite side of the wide road. It blinked at shifted as a figure turned and walked barely in sight along the edge of the crowd towards the less populated end of the road.

Buffy became aware of someone talking to her as the buzz in her ears faded away.

"-you alright? Hey," Brian turned her by her shoulder and looked into her face with concern.

"I'm fine, Brian. A little, um, over stimulated." Brian nodded in understanding.

"You gonna be alright? We'll probably be here until really late but we can get you a ride home if you need some space." Buffy smiled absently and patted his arm, her head craning to look at the rapidly disappearing figure.

"Yeah, but there is no need. I'm going to wonder a little bit," Buffy said. With a quick glance to Dom tking with a couple of strangers, Mia and Letty, and Vince and Roman heckling some other drivers, Buffy slipped into the crowds with an easy but quick walk following her focus toward the blocked off end of the street away from the racing strip and dancing crowds.

Slipping free of the last groups of before and just on the edge of the noise, Buffy slowed to a walk from her gentle jog past the rows of parked cars. She could here crickets again and the faint sounds of traffic from the highway and the busy downtown corridor. The sounds of footsteps made her turned around, her slayer senses on full alert but not kicking her into a fighting gear.

* * *

It was Whistler. Still wearing his vaguely 80's brown suit and stupid hat, a friendly and half hearted smirk stuck to his face.

"I really hope you came to say 'thank you' or something along those lines. It would be a nice change from every other time you've popped up in my life to screw something up," Buffy grumbled. Whistler smiled and glanced to where her brother's golden curls could just be seen under an amber street light.

"Your brother all caught up then?"

Buffy raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms.

"My apologies. Thank you venerable Queen Slayer," Whistler jibbed as he gave a tiny tilt of his hat. She scoffed but smiled.

"He knows the main bits. We may not have been talking recently but he knows me well enough to fill in some gaps."

"How are you doing?"

"You mean am I still having nightmares, hypersensitivity, and aggressive flashbacks?"

Whistler gave a lower whistle, scuffed his shiny shoe's heel against the road and nodded his head.

"Yeah. Believe what you like Buffy, but the Powers That Be do care about you. You have done and surpassed and endured more than any other slayer, more than even They thought was possible. You've had family and friends along the way, and sometimes there is betrayal and heartbreak, but reconnecting you with your brother was important. That's why Faith received the dream that she did," explained Whistler. Buffy was astonished.

"Faith dreampt about Brian?"

"How do you think she knew where to find him and how to contact him? Whatever problems she's had, and that is plenty," Whistler gave a wry laugh, "she has come out of it caring for her sister slayer. You understand what it means to be burdened by your calling. The newly called slayers may have experienced pain, loss, and war but the giddiness from their new power dulls that for them."

Buffy didn't know what to say. As far as she had always felt, the Powers That Be were the distant and somewhat make believe figures that she could freely blame her difficulties and heartbreaks on because of their "contribution" to her destiny. It was because of them she had been called as a slayer and all the disastrous things that followed over the years could be linked to Their actions.

To know They cared? Well, They still seemed like jerks. The least They could have done was help out around the house when Willow and the gang had brought her back. What is house plumbing against the powers of the universe?

"So did they come to give thanks and apology or something?" Buffy was aware that being emotionally discombobulated was making her a little more snarky than should really be allowed but by the look on Whistler's face said that he understood.

"Not exactly. Certain…..events have aligned in such a way that your current…..peculiar situation is particularly suited to dealing with," Whistler hedged.

"What?" Buffy stared at him blankly.

"Something very serious has suddenly come up. To be entirely honest, We were going to have the shady money grubbing demonic resources available to Wolfram and Hart deal with it. But, and entirely by coincidence, you then landed yourself in a place surrounded by suitably skilled people to deal with this problem."

"Whistler," Buffy grit her teeth. "This is starting to sound a lot like work. Like a big slayer work related pain in my ass."

"Yeah. Sorry."

"No you aren't. Tell me the problem before I try out my new boots on you."

"It is a strange combination of some old familiar cases. Remember the Master's raison d'etre?"

"I assume that has nothing to due with raisins and means something fancy? Master fruit punch mouth wanted to open the Hellmouth."

"Yes. The Sunnydale Hellmouth was a interesting case in that it was naturally forming."

Now Whistler really had her attention. Even with all the information they had pertaining to Hellmouths, it was all ritual and what could be done. The formation or occurrence of one was ironically somewhat mythical.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Think of the Hellmouth as a volcano, filled with demonic energy magma. The presence of a volcano, with magma in it, will cause geographic phenomena like hot springs. The water is heated by proximity to the magma and takes place as a hot spring or geyser as a neutral natural occurance."

"Okay. So that is the Sunnydale Hellmouth? But if it isn't active why is it drawing demons left and right?"

"Those hot springs in this case act like a draw. Demons and those with some sort of connection could feel a change in the atmosphere if you will, that alerted them to the presence of the Hellmouth. But that doesn't mean the Hellmouth was open or directly active."

"So all the demons and stuff were like monkeys that wanted to come bathe in the Hellmouth hot springs," Buffy summarized.

"Interesting terms but yes. Only those with immense power would be able to face the open Hellmouth's power and not be vaporized or simply sucked in."

"Like the Master. Or the First," Buffy whispered. Whistler nodded solemnly.

"Exactly."

"So what is different about this case?"

"This cat, low level demon, not much to write home about, is a big deal in the human crime world. Enough power to push mortals around and a few lesser demons. Recently he came across an old text, must have been in transit between holders or the keeping family died out and all this time no one really knew what it was for, or did and was smart enough to bury it."

"Okay, what does it do?"

"Let's just say, it teaches you how to build a volcano." Buffy stood there shocked. Then she turned and paced a brief circle while running her fingers through her hair.

"So this guy could use it to create a Hellmouth, wherever he chooses?"

"Yup. Not a nice thought, is it? The thing about natural Hellmouths is that that have a sense of balance to them. Like the geyser in Yellowstone National Park, they can stay in a state of limbo for decades, even hundreds of years even though the risk of a catastrophe is apparent and possible."

"But it won't have that balance. So it will open?"

"Or collapse in on itself. And we've already seen that damage that causes."

Sunnydale. That's what Whistler was subtly hinting to. The Hellmouth there was closed due to their and Spike's efforts but it was only by miraculous luck that they had the time, foresight, and people to evacuate the city before hand. Even then, there were over a hundred non slayer deaths.

"Buffy!" Buffy turned and saw Brian, Mia and Dom walking towards her with Vince and Letty trailing behind, all of them looking suspiciously at Whistler.

"That's my sign to leave," said Whistler. Buffy turned back to him and he held out a piece of folded paper, about the size of a cheap hotel stationary pad.

"The information you'll need to find him is on there. I'll be listening for your decision. And Buffy? Under no circumstances is this guy to know what he is sitting on. Powers That Be are only worried while he's got it, they'll be downright freaked if he reads the damn thing," Whistler warned.

With another tilt of his stupid hat, he took a couple steps back, out of the circle of orange light from the overhead street light and disappeared into the shadows of the trees and undergrowth lining the road.

"Buffy, we were getting worried. You've missed multiple races," Mia's voice was noticeably chiding.

"Who was that?" Brian cut Mia off before she could ask anything else.

"Whistler. He was just here to offer thanks and congratulations." Buffy traced the edge of the paper with her finger nail.

"Really. That's all?" Brian was skeptical. He'd never met Whistler but he knew who the demon was.

"He looks like a drug dealer," muttered Vince. Letty elbowed him but didn't look like she totally disagreed.

"Buffy? Is everything alright?" asked Dom. He held her shoulder so she faced him and searched her eyes for any sign something was wrong.

"Just an old friend. Or friendly acquaintance. He was asking me to look into someone for him. There's a problem along my lines of work that his bosses would appreciate my help with." Dom could tell that was the heavily censored version and he didn't know who these bosses were but obviously they were important whoever they were.

"Who is it he asked you to look into?" Brian asked, his arm around Mia as he ricked gently back onto his heels.

Buffy shrugged and unfolded the paper that Whistler had given her.

"Hernan Reyes."


	10. Reflecting and Making Tracks

_a/n: Late again sorry! People keep wanting me to go to work and school, it is ridiculous. You'd think I was an adult or something. Anyways, while I can't promise regular updates, I can assure you that this stry does have an end in mind and is not likely to be suspended. Be patient with me please._

 _Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Fast And Furious characters and content belong to their rightful owners._

 **Chapter 10: Reflecting And Making Tracks**

Despite the mysterious circumstances surrounding Whistler and her new destiny written on crap motel paper, Buffy still managed to enjoy her first street race. She missed a couple of the starting races but still got to watch Letty, Roman, and Brian make and mostly win their races. Roman blamed second place on the preceding beers. More than once she joined the dancing crowd being supplied by Tej with loud music, the close crowd reminding her of Friday nights with the gang at the Bronze. She was grateful for the distinctly different kind of night life though. Dom spent the night socializing with those he was familiar with and stoically crowd watching in equal portions, steadfastly ignoring the women and few men who were fascinated and turned on by the muscular and quiet king of the neighbourhood. And they were obviously feeling much braver now that Letty had finally broken off the long time rocky relationship with Dom in pursuit of other men.

So Dom was doing his best not to seem encouraging and thus not have to fend off over enthusiastic and buzzed company. Though he'd drive a fuel efficient Toyota before admitting it, he spent most of the night watching Buffy swing her hips and hands in the pulsing crowd of dancers. He tried to justify it to himself that he was worried about the truth of the situation he'd come upon, what it would mean for his family, and what steps would have to be taken. Would it be dangerous for them or would it simply mean that Buffy would move on now, once again having a divine purpose?

Truth is she was beautiful and he felt like a gawking 14 year old boy. Lord protect him from rabid blonde ex-cops and their ability to read facial expressions and body language.

"Eyes are wandering, Dom" Hector said, humor evident as he sidled up next to him. Dom grunted and took a sip from the beer someone had handed him earlier.

"So what's the real deal? There has to be more to it than just being the buster's little sister." Hector may have not been the most book smart or best driver, but he was street smart. And being able to survive on the under belly of LA meant knowing body language and Buffy's both confused him and weirded him out.

"Vampiro Asesino," Dom mumbled. Hector rolled his eyes and abruptly crossed himself.

"Dios mio, she's tiny!" Hector vaguely shook his hand in her direction. Dom looked over at the dancing crowd but didn't see her light blonde hair under the orange street lights and purple car neons.

"I'm average on the short side actually. I'm perfectly normally petit. You make me sound like some sort of leprechaun," Buffy's voice came from behind them. Dom almost dropped his beer as he whipped around and Hector gave a small shriek, muttering under his breath in Spanish and patting his heart.

At Dom's expression she gave him an impish smile.

"You're kind of a tattle tale Dom, did you know that?" she smiled and put a small hand at the back of his neck, having to stand on her tip toes to reach. "That's going to have to change Dom. You might be king around here, but what I am is not yours to share." Her tone became frosty, a gold glint to her blue eyes. He nodded then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side, partially to feel her close and partially to break the disconcerting eye contact.

"Hector is connected, he's one of the reasons I knew enough not to think Brian was crazy when he gave me the inside on you that first night."

"I know, I can smell it on him. That doesn't mean that I want every Tom, Dick and Jose to know about it."

Dom smiled at the touch of pout in her voice so he knew she wasn't angry.

Tej came over, trailed by a younger man taking bets, and hailed Dom's attention.

"Hey Dom, you feel like racin'? I've got a challenger with a big ego and deep pockets. 5g buy in for a race, guy's a jack off but he's been winning so far," Tej said.

"He race any of the team?" Dom asked.

"Nah, he's been steering clear. My guess is he's got lofty goals and knows his chance would be gone if he race Letty or Blondy first," Tej paused and glanced at Buffy. "Other blondy. The ugly one." Buffy smiled and Tej gave her a flirty wink making her laugh quietly.

"What do you say Buffy, how about a race from the best seat in the house?" Dom asked, glancing at Buffy. She bit her lower lip with her teeth and looked up at him.

"You aren't going to make me ride on the hood are you? I've played chicken before and once was enough." She was earnest but her tone was light. They all laughed but looked a little shocked. Hector made a derisive noise in his throat and waved his hands at her.

"You're just as crazy as the rest of them. I'm not getting involved." He walked off, going to the starting line and getting people pumped up for the race of the night. "Chica is loco."

"Well?"" Dom raised his eyebrows and waited. Buffy had felt a number of non human presences flit across her awareness but working with Spike for those last weeks, he had pushed her to refine her senses. While she couldn't recognize all the various kinds of demons and beings, she could tell the difference between vampires and those full of malevolence and those who were neutrally integrated into human society. There was no reason she could see to stay, it was too busy and well lit for any attacks.

"Sure. Show me what all the fuss is about."

* * *

The atmosphere of the racers and the crowds changed dramatically once Dom led Buffy to his car and buckled himself in. A thrum of interest turned into a rambunctious hollering when Dom pulled his Charger to the starting line. Men and women alike pressed against the cars lining up, making drivers creep carefully forward to avoid catching any misplaced feet.

Buffy could see three other cars pulling up and it didn't surprise her that she didn't recognise any of them. Though a lack of one car she did find surprising.

"Brian? I would have thought he'd be all over this," Buffy said. Dom snorted.

"Oh please. If he wants to win, he'll race against someone else. No sense in getting his ass kicked and losing a couple grand in front of everyone, I'll beat him sometime with just us and he can bask in his defeat in privacy."

"Wow. That's harsh," Buffy mumbled but she had seen the grin on Dom's face and she couldn't resist a grin at her brother's difficult new family.

Tej stopped by Dom's open window and Dom plucked a roll of bills from where it rested next to the gear shift and passed it to him. Tej nodded and gave it a flick with his fingers.

"I'll get it back to you with interest real soon." And he walked to the next car, laughing and talking with everyone he passed.

Dom turned the key in the ignition and the glossy black charger roared to life. He turned to her and grinned.

"You ready?"

* * *

The buzz from Dom's driving had worn off by the time he pulled the charger into the driveway and hopped out to open the garage door. Quickly getting back in the car, he pulled into the almost sacred space and shut of the deep rumple of the muscle car. They sat in silence for a moment before Dom patted her thigh and got out. Her lack of a deep sleep was making her tired now and while she knew she would be awake at some point in the night, probably due to nightmares, a nap before a distressing patrol at 3 something AM. She covered a yawn as she got out and gently shut the door and followed after Dom who was waiting to close the garage door. He slipped his hand onto her lower back as they walked to the back of the house onto the small porch where Dom propped open the screen door and unlocked the back door.

"You want anything to drink?" Dom asked.

"No thanks, I've already had a beer and Buffy and beer are not mixy." Her voice was a little slurred and thick, from both alcohol and lack of rest. While her metabolism worked overtime to keep up with her energy, alcohol seemed to hit her more than usual. Buffy flopped into one of the porch chairs and began wrestling her boots off. Or trying, while she got the zipper down, the angle was proving to be difficult to actually pull them off. Finally she huffed and slumped into the back of her chair, head back and eyes closed with her hands tossed over the arms.

"Having trouble?" Dom asked.

"Mmmm," Buffy grunted.

"Would you like a hand?"

"Yes please." Dom smiled and helped her make quick work of her very high boots, his fingers brushing along her thigh as he caught the tag of the zipper on her remaining boot and pulling it down to her ankle. Buffy's breath caught and her leg muscles jumped under his touch.

"Will you tell me about him?" He asked quietly.

"Him?"

"Whistler?"

"Oh. _Him_." Buffy sighed and sat up, making eye contact with Dom as she pulled her legs away from him and he stood up to sit in the chair next to her.

"He was the one to tell me what I was when I was 15, shortly before I turned 16, as if those ages are difficult enough to get through. Every now and then he pops in to create trouble, send a message or whatever."

"And now he has something new for you." Dom gently pried.

"Yeah. Someone got a hold of something that will bring destruction and ruin upon us all. The typical day."

"What does this mean?"

"It means I get to do research, which I hate. I'll ask Faith and Andrew to look into what and who I'll be dealing with, what I need to consider, what it'll be like there, any known risks of the area, things like that. Then I get to go on a big ass road trip to Rio." Buffy rubbed her hands over her face and gently scraped her fingers through her hair making her scalp tingle.

"Hopefully I'll have enough information to make a comprehensive plan and the trip will only take me a week or two. But more than likely, something will go sideways."

"Two weeks minimum hunh?" Dom mumbled quietly.

"Yup" Buffy sighed.

"Would you be taking any of your old crowd with you?" Dom asked.

Buffy let her head roll back while she thought about it, staring at the flecks of rust from old nails in the porch roof and the moths fluttering around the soft white Christmas lights that Mia had put up for their family barbeque just a few days ago. She claimed it added a fun atmosphere.

"Probably not. Things were…a lot has happened in the past 6 months. I won't disregard my own blame, I know I made some bad choices over the past years. But I think I've also stayed pretty well on the moral straight and narrow. I've had to adapt to the times, accept help and information from sources that weren't human. I've made connections and agreements with all sorts because as far as I was concerned, if you weren't out killing or causing problems, there was no reason you should be slayed. Xander in particular had very strong views about that. Willow, with all her knowledge, forgot the saying 'absolute power corrupts absolutely'. She may have seriously turned herself around but she craves that control and leadership. Problem is, as a leader, she makes some very bad decisions."

Dom reached over and , tugging her arm gently, got her to relocate to his lap where she slumped sideways leaning against his chest.

"And Faith. She's had her black patches and we've come to an understanding between us. We may both be 'orignals' and sister slayers, but we both understand that I lead and she supports. She has her own ideas and plans of action and she's often me best sounding board but we understand how we best work together. Then there's" Buffy gave a quiet choked sob, "Spike. There was Spike."

"You had a dog?" Asked Dom, more than a little confused.

Buffy gave a brace of sad, surprised laughter.

"No but sometimes I treated him like he was. He was a vampire, we'd had a typical slayer/bad guy start and several following fights. I got to know him much better in the last two years after a government project in Sunnydale implanted him with a behaviour modifying chip. He couldn't hurt humasn anymore, couldn't hunt. After month of rocky cooperation I got to know him. And when I left to battle Glory, I asked him to take care of Dawn for me."

As Buffy continued to talk, a coil of sour discomfort began making itself known in Dom's gut. _Jealousy_ he thought, _I've only known her a couple of days and she's opening up about all the shit she's suffered and I'm sittin' here like an ass getting' jealous!_ Maybe he really had reverted to a 14 year old.

"I only know the basics of what happened with Glory from what Brian told me. I know you died though." Dom said softly.

"I did. My blood closed the portal but the six story fall onto moving pallets broke my neck. Spike stayed, despite the fact that no one but Dawn wanted him there. He stayed for one hundred and forty seven days, helping her with her homework, cooking for her, providing a sibling when Willow and Tara were too busy with school and magic to pay her much mind. Even though they lived in our house rent free."

"And on day one hundred and forty eight?"

"Willow brought me back from the dead" Buffy whispered. Dom tightened his arms around her and they sat together in quiet.

"Spike died, sacrificed himself, against the First and closed the Hellmouth just a week ago. I tried to tell him I loved him."

The knot in Dom's gut turned to iron.

"I'd treated him so badly for so long he didn't believe me. I'll always care about him but I know that it'll remain in my past." Buffy sighed again.

"I just want to be done Dom," she tucked her face into the space between his shoulder and jaw.

"And you will be. Take the rest of tonight and sleep in in the morning. Call up Faith and start gathering info. When you have the info you need, we'll sit down and plan out this trip to Rio. We'll deal with this Reyes bastard and bring you back home," Dom promised.

Buffy raised her head to look at him.

"We?"

"You're family, and the Torettos don't leave family to face things on their own."


	11. The Road to Rio

_a/n: unintended hiatus ended, my apologies if anyone thought it was being abandoned. Unfortunately as much as I like writing this story, I have other priorities that take up my time so it will sometimes get shuffled to the side of my plate. This chapter is a segue way into the Fast 5 movie which will obviously be quite AU due to characters and storyline. I hope what I write will still be enjoyed however. I still own neither franchise and make no profit. Also please appreciate that I wrote 80% of this on my smartphone on a flight. Yeah, typos be damned._

 _Thanks to all those who reviewed! It encourages me to write knowing that people are enjoying it._

 **Chapter 11: The Road to Rio is Paved with Good Intentions**

The morning after Buffy's first night out at the races, she was a busy bee; calling her telephone tree of trusted contacts for information and making preparations for her trip to Rio de Janeiro. Everyone else in the house was still asleep having been tired out from the late night of adrenaline and excitement.

Or too much to drink.

Or both.

So when Buffy had woken up at half past seven, she set up shop on the breakfast table armed with a notebook and her cellphone. Faith and Andrew had been filled in, Andrew promising to get what he could on the artifact in question and Faith following up on Reyes himself and the locals. She didn't expect to hear from them for a couple hours at least. A subtle request had been made that someone inform Giles she wanted to speak with him at his discretion and privacy. The unspoken order that he was the _only_ one she wanted to speak to did not go unheard.

A member of American Federal Law enforcement whose job it was to poke their nose in other countries' business and had ties to the Watcher's Council had given her the basic layout of the scene in Rio. Hernan Reyes had his fingers in just about everything including the local law enforcement. His men controlled all drug trade and everything was kept off the books with money in cash houses as opposed to local or foreign bank accounts. He was your average scum, not dictating himself by a self-imposed "code" that some Japanese and Russian mob bosses liked to use. While it made him much easier to deal with, it did mean his actions were somewhat prone to unpredictability. And that would range to a minor inconvenience to a huge problem depending on his IQ but from what Mr. FBI anonymous knew, a couple of particularly clever ideas of Reyes' did not indicate a hidden great intellect.

Buffy ended the call with a good start on her notes and paused for a stretch before turning on the coffee maker and looking for breakfast. The banana had kept the wolf from the door when she woke up but research made her hungry. She made herself a bowl of cereal with yogurt and raspberries and put two English muffins in the toaster. Sitting back down with her spoils, she was about to take a bite when her phone rang. The caller was only the number of the Hyperion.

"Hello?" She said cautiously.

" _Buffy, it's Andrew. I have what you asked for."_ From the vaguely tinny quality of his voice, she was on speaker phone.

"That was quick. Are you by yourself?"

" _Hmmm? Oh, yeah. I managed to reserve a small private conference room to work in, I rambled on about private phone meetings and Watcher's Council information and they stopped asking questions."_

"Alright. Go ahead."

" _It wasn't actually all that difficult to find. Mostly because even in the right circles, everyone thinks it is just an old wives' tale. While unique as an artifact, no one seems to believe it actually does anything. Like having a hindu prayer for rain and putting it through google translate. It just doesn't work."_

"Well according to the PTB, it does work. Can you give me some finer details on what it actually is? Maybe what it's called?"

" _Oh, right. It's called the Kuum Maa Kerige or the hot earth scroll."_

"Kuum Maa Kerige? Is that a demon language of some kind?"

" _Nope, Estonian."_

"Hunh. Interesting."

" _I don't speak Estonian so the translation of its name might be wrong. That's just what everyone seems to refer to it as."_

"And what have you found about the volcano paper?" She knew Andrew's answer would be a while so she shove an English muffin in her mouth while cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder while pouring herself a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

" _I don't know what that means. But the Kuum Maa Kerige is dated back to ancient times, there is some mention of it being stored at one point in the Library of Alexandria but was removed before the library disappeared. It was last recorded to be in the possession of a small clan of mushnu demons in Rio de Janeiro. They tend to live on the fringes of human society and not get involved but from what I overheard from Faith's phone calls, they were likely caught in some crossfire and their things were looted afterwards. Many auction sites for collectors' items make a special note of the quality of calligraphy. Ooooh, there's a picture…..I might not speak Estonian but I'm pretty sure that's not it. Kay, Kuum Maa Kerige is apparently a new name given by a Sir Gallifor three centuries ago once he deciphered the writings. No idea what it was called before that."_ Buffy swallowed the last of her English muffin.

"And you can't find any indication that anyone has used the scroll? With any sort of results?" she asked.

" _Nope. That's why even the underground communities consider it a collector piece. It's super old but that is kind of its only novelty."_

"Let's hope it stays that way. If what Whistler told me is right, in the wrong hands it could do some serious damage."

Hearing noise she looked up to see Dom walk into the kitchen wearing nothing but his low riding sleep pants and rubbing his hands over his head in an attempt to wake himself up. He gave her a soft smile and headed straight for the coffee before sitting down at the table across from her, silently waiting for her to finish her call.

"Alright, thanks for that Andrew. I still have some planning to do once I hear from Faith. I need to get an idea of the demon community and what Reyes' alternative enforcement will be like, by government contact doesn't know that kind of stuff. Once I have a better sense, I'll start planning my supplies and trip."

" _OK Buffy. Let me know if you need anything and I'll try and get it for you. Oh! And let me know your final travel plans, I'll arrange a flight for you and anyone joining you."_

"Great. You're a big help Andrew."

Immediately Buffy could feel an emotional sniffle with a following of misty eyes through the phone.

" _Of course Buffy. Thank you._ " Buffy politely but hastily said her good byes and hung up before serious Andrew gave way to emotional-and-slightly-odd Andrew.

"Good morning," Dom rumbled, his voice still think with sleep.

"Morning." Buffy sipped her coffee. _Is this an awkward silence because it's starting to feel like an awkward silence._ Buffy's dating was rife with jocks and badasses in specific fields. Whether it was Angel with his martial arts (which she has often reflected since training with Spike wasn't actually as good as she'd thought) or Riley with his sense of empowerment and moral strength support by his leadership of the murderous looney squad, they hadn't had expertise, power, or even really sex appeal in the "regular world". Angel's dark broody nature and mystique in the normal world was depressing and unreliable. Riley's dogged need to protect and be involved was overbearing and tiresome. And they revolved around her in some way creating an odd power struggle as she sought to due her duties and they sought to be involved. Ford was best forgotten and the thoughts of Spike were still too painful and too contrary to include.

Dom however was entirely different. He had his own social and professional (if you can call people you do illegal stuff with professional) circles and had cultivated his own importance and following. He knew things she didn't, he know how to deal with situations she didn't, and (despite possibly thinking it was hot) he didn't seem to care all that much about her slayerness. Which resulted in her not being entirely sure how to approach him, particularly while alone, after the tense and slightly erotic dealings of the night before.

"You look like you are trying to decode whether or not you should fling yourself out the back door and hightail it out of here," Dom remarked.

"….mmmm" Buffy shrugged a shoulder and tried to hide behind a large sip of coffee.

"Any reason why?" Dom asked.

"New social ground. This isn't my crew, this isn't my scene. I'm trying to figure out how to go about my business, keep things under wraps, and delegate where needed without stepping on toes or getting anyone's hackles up."

"Well you've already made some progress. You and Letty seemed pretty tight when you came back for your adventure into the desert yesterday."

"Yeah well," Buffy took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Letty reminds me a lot of Faith as she is now unlike when she was first called. She can be a little rough but she's true in her loyalty. I miss having that comradery around. Besides, I took her out in the desert so O could talk to myself for an hour. I think she deserved an explanation."

"And you think the others will have trouble accepting it, you, with the same ease?" Dom asked.

"Roman knows only the bare minimum. He knows there is strange shit in the world and I have to deal with it for reasons beyond my control. But Vince? I've only known him a little while but can you tell me that my assumption that he isn't easy going and open minded is wrong?" Buffy asked.

"Ok Vince can be a bit difficult. He's cautious, not open to change-" Buffy interrupted Dom.

"-belligerent, impatient, biased…" Buffy drifted off with a little smile as Dom glared at her without any real heat.

"He's a good friend and he's been part of this family for a long time."

"That's why I'm hesitant Dom. Letty has an idea of how shitty this can be, so does Rome. Brian fully understands that this is now my priority and everything must be done to put this plan in motion. But what about Mia? As much as she is compliant in the things you guys have done, she's a far more peaceful family oriented person. For her to discover that there was a whole new set of dangers to be involved in, that Brian might get involved in for me, that you can't avoid by abiding by human laws? Tej is most likely to be unruffled by it as he just gets along with everybody but Vince? He's brittle when it comes to change and situations where he isn't in control. Brian did regale me with stories of what he was like when they first met. And I've seen some of it too. When you know the truth about me and vampires and demons, it doesn't go away. Sometimes it draws people in, sometimes it horrifies them and they can't deal but some way it affects their life as long as they know." Buffy sighed and got up, washing her empty cereal bowl and refilling her mug.

"I don't want to cause dissention or problems in your family."

Dom caught Buffy's wrist and gently pulled her to sit across his lap. She leaned her head against his shoulder and he loosely wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You under estimate us Buffy. The Toretto family is made of better stuff than that, I hope you know that."

"And I hope you are right Dom. Because I'm not going to put any of you in harms way, especially anyone who is uncertain or doesn't want to follow orders. You might be king of the streets, but when it comes to the underbelly of the city, I'm queen."

They heard the sounds of doors opening and people waking and walking upstairs.

"Let's see then shall we?" Dom asked.

Buffy, with the help of her brother and some quieting looks from Dom had manage to divulge the whole story. From origins to the recent Sunnydale sink to the purpose of Whistler's visit the previous night. It was hard to read expressions and the silence in the living room where they'd decided to hash this all out was getting a little unsettling.

"So that's why you burned down your school gym," Roman said. _Of course,_ Buffy thought, _one of the few things I didn't mention. You and your big ass mouth Roman._

"I'm sorry what?" Letty asked, eyebrows halfway to her hairline. Vince's arms were still crossed over his chest and thunderbrow firmly on his face. Mia looked blankly into space over Buffy's head, a vaguely distraught look on her face.

"It's a short but embarrassing story, let's leave it please," Buffy said, eyes rolled skyward in a silent plea to the PTB that none of her more criminal, less applaudible and often embarrassing ventures be dug up.

Biffy's cellphone vibrated in her back jeans pocket and she quickly pulled it out, thankful for a non confrontational segue way. The caller ID was the Hyperion but she was fairly sure it was Faith. In the spirit of keeping everyone in the loop, she answered it on speaker phone.

"Hello?"

" _Bitch, you owe me so hard."_ Faith's voice came through the phone louder than she thought it would.

"Um-"

" _This mark of yours is a nasty piece of work. I've had to a lot of not-palm greasing to get you all of this. I expect payment in the form of hot half naked pictures of your brother, datkng or not."_

"Ok ew and you are on speaker phone." There was a moment of silence on the other end.

" _Is_ -"

"Yup."

" _That's a little embarrassing. Payment still required, just a different subject."_

"Hernan Reyes Faith?" Buffy asked. Brian was blushing a little and Mia was glaring at the phone.

" _Right, here's what I've got. As far as the demon community in Rio, there are a couple different 'factions' I guess you could call them. There are several types who are integrated with humans, follow the same laws no trouble. Depending on species and place though they might be subjected to gang pressure. There are those who are totally removed from humans apart from accidental encounters or hunts as this group has both benign and aggressive demons. Then there are those who throw their weight around in human circles, placement in gangs and even in official capacities. It's most likely these guys will give you the majority of your problems. Last there are the higher, older, and/or pretentious orders and groups which operate according to demon stuff as opposed to drugs and sex. They'll give you a problem if that keurig thing pops up in local chatter."_

"Do you mean Kuum Maa Kerige?" Buffy asked.

" _I don't care what it's called, you have to find it not me B. Anyhoo, seems like you'll run into some trouble but you should be able to run under the radar for at least a little while."_

"Great, thanks Faith. "

" _Say thanks with gifts."_

"Hey, before you go, any idea what this Reyes guy is?"

" _Besides a slime ball?"_

"I was hoping for something a little more supernatural." Buffy admitted.

" _Um, two shakes."_ There was a small thud as Faith probably put the phone down then there was lots of paper rustling. There was a sound of triumph and Faith picked the phone back up. " _Ever heard of a leeraq demon?"_

"No. Is it as pervy as it sounds?"

" _I think that's up to the individual. Apparently it is a demon with a slight psychic ability. Nothing like thy guys you ran I to all those years ago, leeraqs just have an innate sense of what you covet. Perfect for bribes, blackmail, etc. but they aren't noted for being particularly smart or powerful. Hernan Reyes is either a one off or there is something else going on."_

"Alright, thanks Faith. I'll keep you updated."

" _Cool. Bye B, bye Brian, bye Brian's lady. Faith out."_ And she hung up.

Everyone looked at Buffy.

"She's much better than she used to be."

"So what now? We risk our necks because the buster's sister and all her friends are card holders on the crazy train?" Vince growled. Brian sighed and slumped back into the couch, not interested in entering into an argument if he could possibly help it.

"Vince, you remember about 9 years ago when the Trans came into town. Out of nowhere and there they are at the top of the food chain," Dom asked.

"Yeah?" Vince grunted.

"The Trans moved into Chinatown and even though they were new, almost everyone who had their ear to the ground to the darker part of the city knew not to mess with them. That's why Hector gave them no problems when they butted their noses into the races. That's why I didn't kept my head down and did what they asked when they came to race wars which is what got us into the business with the trucks which started everything down hill in the first place." That was something Dom hadn't shared with anyone before. As far as any of the original crew had known, the truck robberies had simply been a scheme dreamed up to earn some money fencing stolen goods.

The thought that Dom had in fact caved to the Trans to make sure they stayed safe instead of standing his ground like he usually did was an unexpected idea.

"I'm not asking you to risk anything. In fact, I don't remember ever having mentioned anything about any of you coming with me to Rio. I made sure that you were all safe and free to return to this house and I have no intentions of messing with that," Buffy stated strongly. Vince was mollified with that but still obviously not pleased with the turn of events.

"What now?" Mia asked.

"Now I contact Andrew now for my flight details which will have to be privately organized because of my gear. Any supplies I need and don't have will be on the plane waiting for me and I'll head to Rio in a couple of days to deal with him. It'll take about two weeks and if everything goes well, I'll be back intact and armed with the scroll of potential doom. And in 5he mean time, you go about your business, don't wander around alone at night and if you have a cross necklace of some sort, wear it."

It was quiet in the Toretto's living room. The bomb that was dropped still sinking in and while there were obviously mixed opinions there wasn't any yelling or arm waving which is typically regarded as a good sign.

"It's that simple?" Dom asked, his voice low. He obviously had some points of contention with Buffy's 'go-it-alone' plan.

"Well, not really. Reyes has about ten locations he uses to store his cash and unique valuables to avoid detection and scrutiny. What I'm looking for could be at anyone of them," Buffy explained. Her predicament was quickly understood by all of them.

Once she checked the first place, the rest would beef up security or move the contents somewhere easier to keep safe.

"Sounds to me like you're gonna need a team. People who won't crack under pressure," Dom said, a smile beginning on his lips. Similar smiles began to pop up on Brian's, Letty's and Mia's faces. Vince's grimace might actually have been a smile but Buffy wasn't certain.

"Are you all sure about this?" Buffy asked. The last thing she wanted was to be the reason this family was broken up again.

"Call Andrew, there'll be eight people on that plane to Rio," Dom said. "We've got a job."

One week later, Diplomatic Security Service office

"Hey boss!" Rodriguz swung around the doorway to his office. "Facial recognition software just picked up a match on a watch target."

Hobbs looked up from the screen in front of him.

"Who is it?"

"Dominic Toretto sir."

"Finally got the son of a bitch! Where is he?"

"Private airport camera caught sir, in Rio de Janeiro,"

"Then that's where we're headed," Hobbs said. "Gather the team."

*Yes I will explain why Hobbs and his agency didn't get the memo on the pardon. Just go with me for now.


End file.
